The 4th International Sports Film FICTS Festival  has successfully concluded in Rogaška Slatina, Slovenia. The festival featured 34 film screenings, along with 10 additional screenings of films by young creators in collaboration with the Tourist Association of Slovenia.

The slogan of this year, “Sports and Culture Hand in Hand” provided a unique platform for promoting Olympic values, fair play, and creativity in sports and film.

In addition to the in-person screenings, the festival secured agreements to showcase films on the Neo TV platform, where viewers had the opportunity to vote for their favorite film.

Screenings took place across three locations: Rogaška Slatina, Ljubljana, and Maribor.

The ISFF also hosted three well-attended workshops and one roundtable discussion:

  • “Social Film and How to Bring Documentary Films Closer to a Wider Audience”: Aimed at high school students.
  • “Creating a Sports Film”: Designed for primary school students.
  • “Connecting Sports with Film Art” (Roundtable Discussion): For students of the Faculty of Sports.

Beyond the cinematic offerings, the festival organized a Mini Olympics for primary school students and a 3×3 basketball tournament for adult players.

The Festival – organized by Vojko KOROŠEC, Festival director & consultant & license holder – is part of the “World FICTS Challenge” International Circuit of 21 Festival in the 5 Continents.

Mr Branko Kidrič Mayor of Municipality of Rogaška Slatina (middle)

We also made sure to take care of our festival guests by treating them to a half-day tour of Rogaška Slatina. This included visits to the Afrodita Cosmetics factory and the world-renowned Rogaška Crystal factory. We even climbed the observation tower took a trip to the surrounding area.

The festival welcomed numerous eminent figures from the world of sports, including former NBA basketball players Rašo Nesterović and Goran Dragić, Slovenian Olympian Miro Cerar, and world-renowned film and theater director Matjaž Berger, among many others.

Film awards were presented in eight categories to the following recipients:

  • Feature Film: Fedya, The People’s Footballer (Director: Nikolay Akelkin, Russian Federation)
  • Feature short Film: Second Wind (Director: Faustine Masingarbe, France)
  • Documentary Feature Film: When The Wind Becomes Silent (Director: Mateusz Golebiewski, Poland)
  • Documentary Short Film: Fight Camp: Love, Sweat and Hunger (Director: Sally Lomidze, U.S.A.)
  • Olympic/Paralympic Spirit: Codex Olympia (Director: Jeffrey A. Brick, U.S.A.)
  • Sport and society: Smokey’s Dream – When Formula 1 Came to Town (Director: Christian Albinsson, Sweden)
  • I Feel Slovenia Award: The Dragon From Koseze (Director: Mark Pirc, Slovenia)
  • TV Viewers’ Choice: Snow Dogs (Director: Mikhail Moroz, Russian Federation)

All the winners will participate in the World Final SPORT MOVIES & TV 2025 held in Milan from 7 to 11 October.

The photos of the event: https://www.isff.si/galerija-2025/