Opening of the Exhibition by Bogdan Grom, Selected Works,

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1 In This Issue Opening of the Exhibition by Bogdan Grom, Selected Works, Slovenia is Getting More and More Competitive Slovenia Among World s Cleanest Countries Slovenian Girl Shown at the Toronto Film Festival Lanscape No. 2 to Vie for Foreign Language Oscar Archeologists Find 1st Century Graves in Ljubljana WFPG Author Series Event at the Embassy EURO NIGHT 2009 Discover European Tradition First SloveneFest in Kansas Slovene-Ski Program for Winter 2010 Laško Pivo Available in Virginia Opening of the Exhibition by Bogdan Grom, Selected Works, On Friday, September 25, 2009, the Embassy of Slovenia will honor Slovenian Italian artist, Bogdan Grom, with a retrospective of his extensive body of work from 1947 to 2008, the series From Trieste Karst to South- West Canyons and the Winnetou Series, an homage to Karl May, German author. During the last six decades, Bogdan Grom, whose sculpture entitled The Sentinel (Straža) adorns the entrance of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, has created art in just about every medium one can imagine, including watercolor and oil paintings, sculpture, paper cutouts, drawings, and textiles. Already in his 90s, this sprightly Slovenian-Italian virtuoso says he is not yet ready to retire the tools of his trade-not even close. Grom, whose life as an artist took him from his birthplace in Trieste, Italy, to residences throughout Europe, New York, and eventually New Jersey, has recently traveled to Slovenia for his retrospective exhibit in the City Art Gallery of Ljubljana (Mestna galerija). Bogdan Grom continues to divide his reality and his dreams between the Trieste Karst and the Plaza Blanca canyon and Bandelier caves of New Mexico. The exhibition at the Embassy of Slovenia includes his homage to the past and present Native inhabitants of the great Southwest. His art will be on view at the Embassy of Slovenia in Washington, D.C., from September 25, 2009, through January 31, The opening of the exhibition on 25 September is at 6:30 pm. If you would like to attend, RSVP to or nina.aguilar@gov.si. Grom with his sculpture Sentinel (Stražar), 1968, donated to the Slovenian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Embassy s Newsletter Page 1 September 10, 2009

2 S l o v e n i a i s G e t t i n g M o r e a n d M o r e C o m p e t i t i v e Slovenia gained five places and was ranked 37th in this years World Economic Forum s survey of worlds most competitive states. The improvement is in general a result of a very good health and education system. The university education level assessment ranked Slovenia as 19th, the health sector landed on the 22nd place. Slovenia was ranked better also because of the improved level of innovation, good infrastructure and technology development. Also the macro economical stability has improved in comparison to The main problems Slovenia is facing are still the size of the market and the effectiveness of the labor market. There is still a lot of room for doing better also in the financial sector, since the report was critical about the access to finance for companies and to the restrictive Slovene labor legislation. The first place this year was taken by Switzerland, who switched on the top with the USA. The both are followed by Singapore, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands. S l o v e n i a A m o n g W o r l d s C l e a n e s t C o u n t r i e s Ljubljana, September 10 - Slovenia ranks among the world s cleanest countries, a survey by U.S. researchers has shown. On the list of 140 countries, Slovenia ranked 15th. According to the survey by Columbia and Yale universities, which developed an index to highlight the cleanest countries, Switzerland is the world s cleanest country, while the subsaharan African countries headed by Nigeria are at the bottom of the list. Among the top ten are also Norway, Sweden, Finland, Costa Rica, Austria, New Zealand, Latvia, Colombia, and France. The other Slovenian neighbors have ranked behind Slovenia, with Croatia placing 20th, Hungary 23rd and Italy 24th. Countries were assessed on the basis of the Environmental Performance Index, which measures the effects of pollution on human health in 25 categories ranging from air and water quality to biodiversity and the use of pesticides. S l o v e n i a n G i r l S h o w n a t t h e T o r o n t o F i l m F e s t i v a l The Toronto International Film Festival will pull back the curtain for its 34th edition this week, as an unofficial kick-off to the Oscars for an industry whose glitz factor has been dulled by the slumping economy. More than 330 films from 64 countries - up slightly from will be screened over 10 days begining on Thursday, September 10. Slovenia will be represented by the newest film by Damjan Kozole, titled Slovenian Girl. Arriving at TIFF hot on the heels of its world premiere at the Sarajevo fest, Slovenian Girl, the latest feature from filmmaker Damjan Kozole, marks his latest attempt to chronicle the darker side of life in the former Yugoslavian nation - where everyone s hustling, the strong mercilessly exploit the weak, and acts of individual charity rarely go unpunished. Yet while many of his subjects are ripped from the headlines s Spare Parts was about human Page 2

3 trafficking; and Labor Equals Freedom, made for TV the followingt year, looked at the human cost of joining the European Union - his vision is leavened by flashes of pitch-black humor, an affection for his characters - even at their most reprehensible - and a subtle but undeniable craftsmanship. With only two or three features produced a year, Slovenia s industry remains something of an ad hoc affair. ( Every time you start, laughs Kozole, you feel like you re back in 1895, trying to build something from scratch. ) But the self-taught director notes a growing awareness from Euro fest programmers: We seem to be on their radar, at last. He also emphasizes the importance of Toronto - by far the most important North American festival for us. Spare Parts scored a U.S. release through Film Movement, and Kozole is hoping for similar distribution this time around. The early reviews have been good, and people say this one has commercial potential - it s not just another arthouse film, he says. But we ll see. More on the film at VE html?categoryid=31&cs=1 Nina Ivanišin as Aleksandra in Slovenian Girl Landscape No. 2 to Vie for Foreign Language Oscar Ljubljana, September 9 - The Association of Slovenian Filmmakers (DSFU) has put forward Pokrajina št. 2 (Landscape No. 2) by Vinko Moederndorfer as Slovenia s entry for this year s Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. T he association wrote in a press release on Wednesday that its expert commission had picked the story of post-wwii executions of Nazi collaborators from a shortlist that also included Damjan Kozole s Za vedno (Forever), Lajf (Life) by Vito Taufer, and Prehod (Transition Pokrajina št. 2, Moederndorfer s second feature film, is last year s winner at the Festival of Slovenian Film, where it also received the awards for best directing, best supporting actress, set design, photography, and best original score. Premiering at the Venice festival last year, it received the best script award at the Brooklyn festival in New York. It was presented to international audiences at a number of festivals around the world. Page 3

4 Archeologists Find 1st Century Graves in Ljubljana Ljubljana, September 9 - Archaeologists have found the remains of a Roman burial ground dating to 1st century A.D. near the former tobacco factory Tobačna tovarna in Ljubljana. So far, 25 graves have been discovered, most of which contain cremated bodies, head of the excavations Barbara Hofman told Slovenian Press Agency. The burial ground was located by the road leading from ancient Emona, today s Ljubljana, southwestward towards Aquileia, as it was common in ancient times to bury the dead by the road outside the city walls. According to Hofman, the area most probably served for burying one or two generations of Emonians in the 1st century, while some burials from the 3rd and 4th century are also evident. Almost all of the discovered graves are rectangular tegula cassettes, while one grave has a vertically triangular shape. The ashes were mostly contained in amphoras and glass urns, but were also scattered in some of the graves, Hofman explained. Other items found in the graves were mostly ceramic oil lamps or table vessels. Archaeological excavations near Tobačna tovarna started in mid-august, and extend over 350 square meters. How long they will continue depends on how large the burial area is. Nevertheless, much is still expected to be found, Hofman also said. Amphoras and glass urns found at the excavation site in Ljubljana WFPG s Author Series Event at the Embassy On Monday, September 14, Slovenian Embassy will host a Women s Foreing Policy Group s book presentation event, titled Author Series Series. The book presented will be Can Islam be French? by Dr. John R. Bowen, professor at Washington University in St. Louis. In Can Islam Be French? Pluralism and Pragmatism in a Secularist State, Bowen examines how Muslims are responding to the conditions of life in France, paying particular attention to how they are fashioning new Islamic institutions and developing a specifically French approach to religious norms, reasoning, and teaching. For all who wish to attend, please visit WFPG s Web site at for registration and further details. Page 4

5 EURO NIGHT 2009 Discover European Tradition The European Union embassies are delighted to invite you to the second annual Euro Night on Friday, September 18 from 6:30pm to 10:30pm. Take a cultural tour around Europe and feast on national dishes without ever leaving DC! This year s Euro Night will feature Swedish hiphop artist Adam Tensta, who will rock the House of France throughout the evening. Don t miss this opportunity to discover European traditions! WHAT: Euro Night 2009 (details below and at www. EuroNight.org) WHEN: Friday, September 18, 2009 from 6:30pm to 10:30pm WHERE: Embassy of France, 4101, Reservoir Rd, NW ADMISSION: General: $25; Benefactor: $50 ($25 taxdeductible) Admission includes all food and drinks! TICKETS: Proceeds from this event will help support the numerous and varied cultural activities at the participating European embassies. First SloveneFest in Kansas On September , Holy Family Catholic Church in Kansas City, Kansas, a Slovenian national parish, will present SloveneFest 2009 (Slovenski Festival 2009). The event will open with a Mass at 4:00 p.m., during which The Holy Family Choir will sing traditional Slovenian hymns during the Mass. The Fest begins at 5:00 p.m. and will end at 10:00 p.m. Slovenian music will be furnished by Don Lipovac, Brian McCarty, and John Zibert. A Slovenian dinner, prepared by Sandy Sachen Cannon, President of the Altar Society, and other ladies of the Society, will be served in Monsignor Heliodore Mejak hall from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Laško pivo will be available for purchase. There will be a cultural table with Slovenian cookbooks, Slovenian T-shirts and other items available for sale. The hall will be decorated with Slovenian flags. This will be the first ever SloveneFest held at the Holy Family parish, which was founded by Slovenian immigrants over 100 years ago, but it is planned to be an annual event. The public is invited to join our parishioners in celebrating the Fest. Page 5

6 Sloven-Ski Program for Winter 2010 January 29, 30 and 31: Windham Mountain in upstate NY. Annual gathering of Slovenian skiers from USA and Canada. Giant slalom race, dinner, awards, dancing, social gathering. February 13 to 21: SlovenSki trip to Bormio, Italy. JFK - MILAN airfare/transp/4-star HOTEL lodging (double occ.), BUFFET BRKFST + GOURMET four course DINNER 7 days. $ (day trip to St. Moritz, Switzerland, also included). February 13 to 21: SlovenSki week in Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado. NYC or CLEVELAND - ASPEN airfare, transp,2 or 3-bedrm condo lodging + 4 of 5-days skiing, and costs..$1, Only until September 27th air cost..$ * Total..$1, *You can get your own air and meet us there. For all info and reservations call Ivan Kamin (SlovenSki Group) IVAN KAMIN Svet za Slovence po svetu, USA th Place Middle Village, NY Laško Pivo Available in Virginia Slovenian beer Laško is now also available in Virginia. To order, please contact Richmond European Wine Wholesale, Inc., at: contact@vinovodka.com or by phone (804) Richmond European Wine Wholesale, Inc., also stock a variety of Slovenian wines. The weekly e-newsletter is produced by the Embassy of Slovenia in Washington. The archive of the e-newsletter is available online. To subscribe or unsubscribe to the e-newsletter please send an to: vwa@gov.si. Network of Slovenes by connecting professionals, trainig entrepreneurship and reanimating Slovene culture. Your online connection to everything Slovenian all around the world. Page 6