In the thesis, I researched the portrayal of Ljubljana in feature films made during the transitional period between 1991 and 2004 after Slovenia had gained independence. Using the art historical methodology, I studied how film directors used the image of the city and individual buildings to recreate the sense of real locations, how well-known locations function on film, and tried to interpret the symbolism of certain buildings. With formal analysis, I observed compositions, colours, perspectives, volumes, light and shadows in the most representative shots. With contextual analysis, I placed the films in space and time. The starting point of the research was a study in which the depiction of Ljubljana in feature films made from the end of the Second World War to the end of the 1960s is analysed using semiological methodology. There are two predominant patterns in the early films, the first is the focus on the historical part of the city, and the second involves a certain degree of opposition to intensive modernization and urbanization, which I tried to apply to post-independence films. I have found that, compared to older films, it is not possible to point out any recurring pattern that would predominate among post-independence films. In most films, Ljubljana acts as a vague environment that does not play a significant role in the development of the narrative. It is possible to point out some individual locations, such as Trnovski pristan, the city center of Ljubljana with Mestni trg, embankments and bridges of the Ljubljanica River as well as the Žale Cemetery and Tržnica, which often appear in scenes with similar themes. Post-independence films avoid the (genre) characterization of the capital and remain within the representation of a realistic city, which deprives Ljubljana of a more important role in the film.
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