October 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Makalu by Slovenian climbers. This golden jubilee presents an opportunity to revive the memory of the achievement with which Slovenia joined the ranks of the finest Himalayan climbers. We did not summit the first Slovenian eight-thousanders, the 8481-metre Mount Makalu, by the route of the first climbers or by any of the routes we had already climbed. We took a new, pioneering route on the mountain's striking, 2500-metre south face. At the time, one of the first routes in the eight-thousander’s looming walls. Even today, the "Yugoslav Route", named after our former country, is one of the greatest achievements in the history of Himalayan climbing on a global scale.

Slovenian Himalayan climbing is linked to Mount Makalu more closely than any other eight-thousander. It was on its south face that the right course and vision were developed, which twenty years later, in the 1990s, helped to rank Slovenia among the leading Himalayan superpowers.

The successful ascent of Makalu led to a series of monumental achievements by Slovenian Himalayan climbers. History has testified to the potential that was unlocked by this successful expedition. Over the following twenty years, Slovenians became the ninth nation to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders. As members of the Makalu ‘75 expedition, we were the first Slovenians to subsequently reach the summits of another ten eight-thousanders. In total, we have made 23 ascents of mountains recognised as being more than 8,000 metres in height, in addition to many other challenging climbs in the world’s most diverse mountain ranges. 
On the 50th anniversary of the ascent, I decided to visit the Makalu base camp again. I informed all 15 surviving members of the journey I planned to make, and three of the veterans joined me: Stane Klemenc, Ivč Kotnik, Bojan and Pollak. Our travelling party included twelve family members, friends and acquaintances from previous visits to the Himalayas.

Makalu was first summited in 1955. Over the next twenty years, until 1975, only twenty climbers reached the summit. On average, only one per year. And there are seven Slovenians among these twenty pioneers.

Viki Grošelj
 

Makalu 1975 expedition:
Expedition leader: Aleš Kunaver. Members: Janko Ažman, Stane Belak – Šrauf, Zoran Bešlin, Danilo Cedilnik – Den, Janez Dovžan, Boris Erjavec, Viki Grošelj, Tomaž Jamnik - Mišo, Stane Klemenc, Ivč Kotnik, Janez Lončar – Šodr, Marjan Manfreda – Marjon, Bojan Pollak – Bojč, Milan Rebula, Roman Robas, Jože Rožič, Dušan Srečnik – Zobač, Nejc Zaplotnik, doctor Damijan Meško, cameraman Rado Riedl

Foreshadow by renowned Flemish choreographer Alexander Vantournhout features eight acrobat-dancers. The performers move like gears of a collective body, exploring quasi-impossible balances, challenging one another and defying gravity. With Foreshadow, Vantournhout takes a new step in his exploration of the relationships between gravity, movement, balance, and spatiality. Rather than a static backdrop, the wall emerges as an accomplice: through meticulous calibration of body positioning, an ongoing dialogue emerges among the performers, the wall, and inevitably, the floor. 

After VanThorhout, in which Alexander Vantournhout appeared solo on stage, Not Standing returns with a group show featuring eight acrobat-dancers. The performers move like the cogs in a human machine to the tunes of experimental rock music. The collective body embeds in an orchestrated symphony of limbs and joints, creating an ever-evolving landscape of human sculptures.

Body mechanics are challenged by gravitational forces, resulting in an interplay of physical systems. Together, eight performers create an ever-evolving landscape of human sculptures.  In addition to the floor, which played a prominent role in SCREWS and Through the Grapevine, the wall now also becomes a dance partner.

Alexander Vantournhout (Brussels, 1989) studied single wheel and juggling at ESAC (Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque) and contemporary dance at P.A.R.T.S. (Performing Arts Research and Training Studios) in Brussels. His physical language is influenced by a varied education and diverse working experiences. However, it is characterized by two constants: his exploration of the creative and kinetic potential in physical limitations, and the interaction or boundary between performer and object.

Since 2014 he has created more than 10 shows, ranging from solos to group pieces, which have been touring intensely over the last ten years. His productions have been awarded several times and in 2024 he received the Ultima, Flanders’ highest recognition for performing arts. He is artist in residence at arts centre VIERNULVIER in Ghent (BE) and associate artist of le CENTQUATRE in Paris (FR). 

He founded his company, Not Standing, in 2012, and his shows are presented in prestigious theatres and performing arts festivals all over Europe and beyond.

Directed by Milo Rau and featuring children from diverse backgrounds, including migrant and refugee families, Medea's Children is a haunting, heart-rending and highly provocative play where children are given voice to reflect on the issues of identity, belonging, loss and the future. Against the background of the myth of Medea, this documentary-theatre piece examines what it means to be a child in a world of conflict, migration, uprootedness and social disintegration.

With Medea’s Children, house artist Milo Rau takes a new, in-depth look at the role of children in theatre. A real criminal case is the starting point: the case of a mother who, in total despair, decides to kill her children and take her own life – but she survives. This modern tragedy is interweaved with the classical Medea, the most infamous case of relationship conflict and infanticide in Western literature. 
 

Milo Rau (1977, Bern) is director, writer, filmmaker and the artistic director of Wiener Festwochen, the well-known arts festival in the Austrian capital. Critics call him the "most influential" (Die Zeit), "most awarded" (Le Soir), "most interesting" (De Standaard), "most controversial" (La Repubblica), "most scandalous" (New York Times) or "most ambitious" (The Guardian) artist of our time. Since 2002 he has published over 50 plays, films, books and actions. Rau has received many awards, including the 3sat Prize 2017 and, as the youngest artist after Frank Castorf and Pina Bausch, the renowned ITI Prize of the World Theatre Day in 2016. In 2017, Milo Rau was voted "Acting Director of the Year" in a survey conducted by Deutsche Bühne. In 2018 he received the European Theatre Prize for his life's work. From 2018 to 2023, Milo Rau was artistic director of Ghent city theatre NTGent. Rau's radical and activist art gave NTGent a new impetus. Under his direction, the city theatre built a stellar reputation in the international art world. At NTGent, Rau created a series of lauded performances including La Reprise, Lam Gods, Orestes in Mosul, The New Gospel, Antigone in the Amazon and Medea's Children.

Screenwriters: Petra Seliškar, Tancrede Riviere 
Director of Photography: Brand Ferro 
Editing: Laureline Delom, Saško Potter Mičevski
Music: Iztok Koren
Sound Designer: Vladimir Rakić 
Production: Petra Pan Film, Cinéphage Productions, PPFP, RTV Slovenia

In 2025, Petra Seliškar first released My Summer Holiday, a short film about an eight-year-old Basri who spends his summer holidays with his older brothers herding sheep high in the Macedonian mountains. Enjoying wild nature in this remote area creates a sense of freedom and respite, despite the challenging tasks of dealing with the cycles of nature and protecting hundreds of sheep threatened by wolves. Once again featuring the three Macedonian brothers, The Mountain Won’t Move focuses on the youngest sibling, Zani, who stays in a lower hut and takes care of the cows. As they grow older, many questions arise in the brothers’ minds, most vitally whether they can manage a sustainable life as shepherds, and what lies ahead for them in their future. Compared to the more intimate My Summer Holiday, The Mountain Won’t Move shows the poetic rhythms of shepherding life against the backdrop of breathtaking mountain landscapes, the dramatic scenery becoming a protagonist in its own right. The city, looming far on the horizon, seems like an unattainable ideal.

In cooperation with the Slovenian Film Centre 

Directed by: Tugo Štiglic 
Written by: Vitan Mal, Tugo Štiglic
Cinematography: Rado Likon 
Music: Jani Golob 
Editing: Jaka Judnič 
Cast: David Sluga (Tomaž), Kaja Štiglic (Milena), Boris Kralj (Luka), Marjana Karner (Mother), Dare Valič (Father), Majda Potokar (Doctor)
Production: Filmski studio Viba film, Kulturna skupnost Slovenije 

A 1980s Slovenian blockbuster and a groundbreaking youth film thatreinvigorated the national cinema, with the seaside towns of Piran, Portorož and the local salt marshes providing a beautiful setting for this coming-of-age story.

It is the summer when the main protagonist, Tomaž, bids farewell to his boyhood. Playing on the seashore, he forgets the quarrels between his parents who are separated and, as it is usual with many parents, have no time to notice that their son is growing up. Apart from elderly Luka, a former mariner, there is no one in the world of adults who understands Tomaž’s problems. Luka gives him a shell that will help Tomaž keep his memories of the summer: his first love, first romantic touch, and his summertime friends will come back to him whenever he listens to the murmur of the sea in the shell. It is a summer of coming-of-age, of taking important decisions and shouldering responsibilities.

The film won the Audience Award at the 1986 Celje National Film Week and the Grand Prix for Best Film at the 16th Giffoni Film Festival.

To mark the 25th anniversary of her musical career, the dynamic singer Alya will take the stage at Linhart Hall with an expanded band.
A recipient of numerous music awards and known for her collaborations both in Slovenia and internationally, Alya is also celebrated for her distinctive and high-energy performances—most notably the historic concert in the air aboard a Croatia Airlines flight, where she performed alongside special guest, the legendary Massimo Savić.

This time, Alya is preparing an intimate yet grand concert, full of energy, emotion, and timeless hits. Several special guests will join her on stage—though for now, their names remain a surprise.

Approximate running time: 120 mins, no interval.

Watch the video on YouTube – click HERE

We find ourselves in various environments, situations, and relationships. How do we respond to those who seek attention? To those who act in ways that don’t meet our expectations? To those who may not be as skilled as we are? And how does someone who is singled out feel in such moments?

In each group, one dancer slowly withdraws—she retreats into herself, no longer wishing to socialize, speak, or even dance. But when the ballerinas appear on stage in all their grace and grandeur, dancing on the tips of their toes, the younger girls are captivated by their beauty. They forget the incident and choose once again to engage, connect, and stay committed to their ballet journey.

The older dancers, meanwhile, begin to lean toward a different style—contemporary dance. Yet when the younger ones hand them a ballet tutu and invite them to dance in it, they rediscover their passion for classical ballet, their joy in being together, and the beauty that ballet as an art form brings into our lives.

Jani Kutin, vocals, texts, flute, goat's horn; Marjan Stanić, percussion, drums; Matej Magajne, el. guitar, bass guitar; Andrea Pandolfo, trumpet, fluegelhorn, piano; Dejan Lapanja, drums, acoustic guitar, bass guitar; Samo Kutin, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, balafon, tambura basprim, hurdy gurdy, bass harp, n’goni, sound objects

First there was Bakalina, a duo of self-taught musicians – the singer songwriter and loquacious peasant poet Jani Kutin and the accordionist Renata Lapanja. Delivering contemporary melodies and socially critical lyrics in the Čadrg dialect of the Tolmin region, Bakalina has been captivating audiences for nearly a decade, from prominent concert venues to the most secluded rural villages. With each concert and album, Bakalina grew and became Bakalina Velika, comprising members of Jani's former collective Salamandra Salamandra (Samo Kutin, Dejan Lapanja, Matej Magajne), as well as percussionist Marjan Stanić and Rome-born Trieste-based trumpeter Andrea Pandolfo. They have released two albums so far, Prvi krajec came out in the spring of 2021, followed by Zviezdna srebruo (2022). The concert at Cankarjev dom is dedicated to their forthcoming new album, featuring brand-new songs and a new lineup of instruments, a lyre, a flute and a drum made from more than 6500-year-old fir tree found in Čadrg, a village in the Tolmin area.

The concert lasts approx. 90 minutes.

Vita Mavrič performing a concert with guests Mia Žnidarič, Alenka Godec and Jure Ivanušič, under the musical direction of Jaka Pucihar, accompanied by members of the RTV Slovenija Symphony Orchestra.

Vita Mavrič is making her ninth album, scheduled for release in 2026. The brand-new material will be premiered at a retrospective concert organised in celebration of her sixtieth birthday. 

During a career spanning nearly four decades, Vita Mavrič has refined her interpretation, deepening her engagement with the songs and broadening her stylistic range. Vita’s teasing coquetry from her first chansonniere days has gradually evolved into a daring, finely honed delivery of carefully selected and extremely varied repertoire.

The retrospective concert is dedicated to a representative selection to Vita’s lifework, complemented by the long-awaited collaboration with her brother Vinko Möderndorfer, a sprinkling of Vinko’s songs arranged by Jaka Pucihar. In addition, the programme will include works by some of the greatest local and international chanson composers, most notably Jani Kovačič, Jacques Brel, Leo Ferré, Borut Lesjak and Arsen Dedić.

Expect a hefty dose of the nostalgia of chansons with stellar guests – Mia Žnidarič, Alenka Godec and Jure Ivanušič – and a fresh batch of tunes imbued with a mature, bittersweet acceptance of transience. "Stage curtain – fall in the middle of a bow!", reads a line from one of Möderndorfer's songs. Vita Mavrič's retrospective concert is far from being a coincidence; it is a carefully considered stage of Vita’s journey and a celebration of two jubilees: Vita’s sixtieth birthday and the thirtieth anniversary of the artistic partnership with the pianist and arranger Jaka Pucihar, who has written all the arrangements on Vita's recent albums and co-authored the "La vie en rose" events. As well as a pianist, "La Vita e bella" features Jaka Pucihar in the roles of composer, arranger and conductor.

Teja Klobčar, music editor 

Bojan Emeršič’s first-ever solo standup performance!
Plus the latest finest offerings from comedians Vid Valič, Tin Vodopivec and Sašo Stare.  

A grand show featuring two hours of life’s profoundest truths.
 

In Slovenian without translation.