Riders

Jezdeca

slovenia
Directed by: Dominik Mencej
Set in the spring of 1999, Dominik Mencej’s magic realist road movie (an homage to Dennis Hopper’s classic Easy Rider) revolves around best friends and biker wannabes Tomaž and Anton. They drive around their village on mopeds and dream of escape. Tomaž has the reputation of a reliable, honest hard worker, while Anton is more rebellious, constantly in trouble. They decide to transform their motorbikes into choppers and take a weekend trip to Ljubljana to visit Anton’s girlfriend. Along the way they pick up a runaway nun and encounter a wise old biker, with whom they unexpectedly travel to the coast and onward to Croatia—perhaps all the way to Međugorje, a mysterious, magical place where miracles are rumoured to happen. By turns amusing, romantic, and offbeat, Riders turns out to be the long, strange trip of a lifetime.

“Adjectives such as promising and auspicious don’t quite cut it: [Riders] feels very much like the arrival of a fully-formed new European talent … Deeply satisfying … One of the most convincing and unsentimental evocations of loving friendship in recent memory.”

Neil Young, Screen International

Language:
In Slovenian with English subtitles
Genre:
Dramedy
Runtime:
107 min
YEAR:
2022
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A very polished piece of work ... [It] shines thanks to the natural, spontaneous chemistry between the young members of the cast ... This is a ride to be taken and felt with both heart and mind”

Marko Stojiljković, Cineuropa

Awards:

  • Bulgarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards 2018
  • Golden Rose Festival of Bulgarian film: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Critics Gild Award and Audience Award
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