The first Slovenian silent film was produced by young, enthusiastic mountaineers, members of the mounteneering club Turistovski klub Skala, which strived to popularise mountaineering in Slovenia. The film was shot on 35 mm film stock, edited and directed by the talented Janko Ravnik, a musician and experienced photographer.
The screening of the first Slovenian silent feature film released in 1931, In the Kingdom of the Goldhorn, will be accompanied by a live performance of the film's soundtrack by Andrej Goričar.
''Every nation has milestones in its history that mark the beginning of a new era. One of them, in the field of cinematic art, is the first Slovenian feature film, In the Kingdom of the Goldhorn, shot and directed by Janko Ravnik and his colleagues from the mountaineering club TK Skala. It was first screened at the Union Hall in Ljubljana on 28 August 1931.
Janko Ravnik jokingly said that he was chosen by the Skala club as a cameraman because, as a "musician", he was able to steadily turn the crank on the old Ertl camera on which the film was shot.
Well, in the end, the film was a success, bringing to life the beautiful Slovenian landscape and its people, with even a bit of a romantic tale woven in between. And finally, it became the first Slovene silent feature film.''
(Source: Jarin Bohinj Association)
Andrej Goričar's music for the film In the Kingdom of the Goldhorn was premiered by the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Helmut Imig on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Slovenian cinema in 2005. In 2018, Andrej also prepared a quartet version, which was performed for the first time in Switzerland during the summer. As before, Andrej at the piano will be joined by Jakob Bobek on the clarinet, Milan Hudnik on the cello, and Janez Podlesek on the violin.