Feature film
Hang on, Doggy!
Sreča na vrvici
Jane Kavčič · 1977
Synopsis
Matic lives with his mother in a large concrete housing estate in Ljubljana; she loves him but struggles with her worries about work and home, and his father works in Libya. His best friend is called Rok. A film crew shooting near his home gives him the lead role in a film, alongside Milena, a girl his own age, and a large black Newfoundland dog. The boy becomes so attached to the animal that the crew gives it to him at the end of the shoot, and he brings it home, where nothing has been planned for it.
Context
Kavčič himself wrote the screenplay and the dialogue, based on a children's novel by Vitan Mal. Mile de Gleria is credited with the photography and Dečo Žgur with the score; the song, sung by Marjeta Ramšak Peršak, has lyrics by Svetlana Makarovič. Matjaž Gruden plays Matic, Nino de Gleria his friend Rok, Vesna Jevnikar little Milena. Released on 31 January 1977, the film has since been digitised and restored; the film historian Peter Stanković judges it more mature than many Slovenian films for adults.
Who it is for
A family comedy of a little under an hour and a half about a boy and a dog, for children and their parents alike.
Prizes and reception
Badjura Golden Plaque for direction in 1977, special jury prize at Giffoni in 1979; Orion popularity award in 2021.
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