Slovenia Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Janette Manrara has bravely opened up on her experience with labour after she was advised to give birth to her newborn baby daughter Lyra via A C-section a few days ago, and revealed she's on medication for a subsequent health issue.The former Strictly Come Dancing professional and now It Takes Two presenter is currently living in her baby bubble with husband Aljaž Škorjanec as they welcomed their first child together on July 28. Speaking to her 564,000 followers, the proud mum-of-one, 39, revealed that she had been struggling with a painful and "itchy" rash on her post-pregnancy belly as a result of having an operation. Filming herself getting some rest on the sofa while baby Lyra slept soundly next to her, and Slovenian fellow-dancer Aljaž, 33, lay on the floor watching TV, Janette smiled.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Beta Cinema has boarded international sales on “Not a Word,” which will have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in the competitive Platform section. The cast is led by Maren Eggert, who won the best acting award at the Berlin Film Festival for “I’m Your Man.” The film is written and directed by Hanna Slak, whose credits include the Slovenian Oscar entry “The Miner,” and was lensed by Claire Mathon, the cinematographer of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” “Saint-Omer,” “Stranger by the Lake” and “Spencer.” Eggert plays ambitious musician and conductor Nina.

After a blowout debut weekend, Barbenheimer showed strong continued momentum at the international box office on Monday. Warner Bros’ Barbie for its part had the best Monday ever for the studio overseas at $32M from 69 markets (it also scored the studio’s best Monday domestically). The running offshore total through yesterday is $226.3M, bringing the global Kenergy to $414.4M.

The Sarajevo Film Festival has unveiled its official selection for this year’s edition, with Elene Naveriani’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry among the titles playing in Competition.

The 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 30 – July 8) came to a close this evening with an awards ceremony that bestowed two key prizes to contemporary Bulgarian drama Blaga’s Lessons (Urotcite Na Blaga) by director Stephan Komandarev.

Naman Ramachandran Cleopatra Entertainment has secured the North American and U.K. distribution rights for Japanese superhero film “Lion-Girl.” The film is written and directed by cult Japanese director Kurando Mitsutake (“Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf”) and based on characters created by prolific manga artist Go Nagai. The story revolves around survivors of a meteor shower who find themselves locked in a battle against each other and a group of creatures called Anoroc, monsters who hunt and kill humans to extract their life force. The cast includes Tori Griffith (“Wake Up,” “Princess of the Row”) as the titular Lion-Girl, Derek Mears, known for his roles in comic book adaptations such as The CW’s “Swamp Thing” series, Damian TooFeek Raven (“The Chadwick Journals”), David Sakurai (“Fantastic Beasts”), Shelby Lee Parks (“Good Trouble”), Matt Standley (“Fairyland”), and Joey Iwanaga (“Enter the Fat Dragon”).

Marta Balaga Studios shouldn’t rely just on IP-based content to make artistically bold choices, said director Jeff Rowe at Annecy. “Right now, things like ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Sperverse’ are this Trojan horse – they are taking a well-known IP and using that to break artistic boundaries and move the medium forward. My hope is that the studios will take these kinds of risks also with original ideas.” Rowe, now behind “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” spoke out at Variety’s “Breaking the Borders of Animation” panel, moderated by its chief film critic Peter Debruge. 

Katcy Stephan SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers from “With Open Eyes,” the series finale of HBO’s “Succession,” now streaming on Max. Connor Roy was interested in politics at an early age — but Alan Ruck isn’t convinced. “He can say anything he wants to say, but just because he was interested doesn’t mean he’s knowledgeable.” Still, in his mid-50s, Connor’s interest is finally becoming a reality — with a catch. In the finale of HBO’s acclaimed drama “Succession,” from creator Jesse Armstrong, Ruck’s character is poised to become the next ambassador to Slovenia, provided that Jeryd Mencken actually becomes president. But his new wife Willa (Justine Lupe) drops a bombshell: She will be staying in New York (in Logan’s old apartment) while Connor carries out his duties abroad.

Janette Manrara shared a 'be kind' message on social media after one of her latest posts was flooded with comments. The former Strictly Come Dancing star is weeks away from welcoming her first child with her fellow ex-Strictly star husband Aljaž Škorjanec.

Naman Ramachandran Current COO Fatima Djoumer has been appointed CEO of the Europa Cinemas network. Djoumer succeeds founder Claude-Eric Poiroux, who is stepping down from his role as general director after 30 years. Poiroux has been awarded the title of honorary president, recognizing his contribution to the creation and development of the network, which now includes more than 3,000 screens in 744 cities across 38 countries. The network was set up in 1992 to provide operational and financial support to cinemas that undertake to give a significant part of their screenings to non-national European films and to put in place activities for young audiences.

Fatima Djoumer has been appointed General Director of independent exhibitor network Europa Cinemas, replacing Claude-Eric Poiroux who is stepping down after 30 years in the role.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Adrian Wootton, CEO of Film London and the British Film Commission, will preside over the jury of the Malta Film Commission’s inaugural Mediterrane Film Festival celebrating movies from the Mediterranean Basin. The fest, which will take place in Valletta, Malta’s capital, and other locations on the island between June 25-30, will showcase films from each of the MED9 nations, an alliance of nine Mediterranean and Southern European Union member states. It comprises: Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. Besides Wotton the other jury members are “Triangle Of Sadness”actor Zlatko Burić; Cypriot filmmaker Tonia Mishiali; French actor and director Vahina Giocante; Greek producer Amanda Livanou; Italian journalist Boris Sollazzo; Maltese critic Mario Azzopardi; Portuguese journalist and programmer José Vieira Mendes; Slovenian journalist Tina Poglajen; and Spanish programmer Carlos Reviriego.

After last appearing on Strictly Come Dancing back in 2021, pro dancer Aljaž Škorjanec has finally opened up about why he made the decision to leave. Shortly after taking part in series 19 - his last ever season - the 33 year old confirmed he wouldn’t be returning the following year - which would have been his 10th time dancing on the show. However, it seems that his reasons for calling it a day were completely unrelated to the programme.

Christopher Vourlias Actor Sebastian Stan has come on board to produce “Blue Banks,” the feature debut of Romanian director Andreea Cristina Borțun, whose 2021 short film “When Night Meets Dawn” premiered in Directors’ Fortnight. Pic follows Lavinia, a single mother trying to make a better life on her own terms for herself and her 13-year-old son, who live in a poor Romanian village. She is impulsive, prone to misreading situations, and not sure how to love. But her son, on the threshold between childhood and adolescence, needs his mother more than ever, and over the course of four seasons their relationship is put to the test. Stan, who was born in Romania, will produce the film alongside Romanian producer Gabi Suciu, French co-producers Jean-Laurent Csinidis and Jerome Nunes and Slovenian co-producer Ales Pavlin. Shooting will take place in Romania throughout the year and is set to wrap in October.

Janette Manrara and Aljaž Škorjanec have given Gemma Atkinson a special shoutout as they appear to have leaned on her for support and advice as they prepare to welcome their first child.

The Grand Tour fans have been given a look into its upcoming series as Amazon Prime Video confirmed the new show's release date.

The Eurovision Song Contest final is underway with singers from 26 all taking to the stage.

The UK's Eurovision hopes this year rest on the shoulder of singer Mae Muller.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will take place in Liverpool with a live audience at the M&S Bank arena tonight.

The second of two Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals took place on Thursday in Liverpool, northern England.

The second Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals will take place on Thursday night and will see 16 countries battle it out for a place in the grand final.

Eurovision Song Contest has concluded, with 10 countries currently proceeding to the Grand Finals this Saturday (May 13).A grand total of 26 countries will participate in the finals, consisting of 10 finalists from semi-finals round 1, 10 finalists from semi-finals round 2, the “big 5” and Ukraine.The first 10 finalists from semi-finals round 1 has finally been revealed after a slew of performances and voting, with the following countries coming out on top: Norway, Serbia, Portugal, Croatia, Switzerland, Israel, Moldova, Sweden, Czechia and Finland.Watch Norway’s Alessandra perform ‘Queen of Kings’ below.This means that the countries eliminated from the contest following the first rounds of semi-finals are the Netherlands, Malta, Latvia, Ireland and Azerbaijan.Countries set to take part in the second round of semi-finals on Thursday (May 11) are: Denmark, Armenia, Romania, Estonia, Belgium, Cyprus, Iceland, Greece, Poland, Slovenia, Georgia, San Marino, Austria, Albania, Lithuania and Australia.Watch Sweden representative Loreen‘s performance of ‘Tattoo’ below.The “Big 5” countries guaranteed a spot in the finals without having to participate in semi-finals are France, Germany, Spain, the UK and Italy, as they contribute the most financially to the Eurovision Song Contest. Last year’s winners Ukraine also automatically qualify for the finals this year.Ireland’s elimination from this year’s contest marks the latest in a string of failed attempts to qualify, with the country not making eight of its 10 most recent attempts.

The first Eurovision Song Contest semi-final has taken place in Liverpool.

The first round of Eurovision 2023 semi-finals have taken place at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena, with hosts Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Julia Sanina welcoming 15 acts to battle it our for a place in this weekend's grand final.

Strictly Come Dancing star Aljaž Škorjanec has made an emotional admission about his wife Janette Manrara's pregnancy as they prepare to become first-time parents. The dancing couple announced the joyous news they were expecting back in February with their bundle of joy due this summer.

The Malta Film Commission is launching a Mediterranean-focused film festival building on its growing position as a key international shooting location.

Naman Ramachandran The Malta Film Commission is launching the first-ever Mediterrane Film Festival, a new annual event dedicated to celebrating film and creativity. Running from June 25-30, the festival will take place at Valletta, Malta’s capital, and other locations across the country The festival aims to serve as a platform for Malta to continue building its film brand image worldwide and attract more film business to the islands. Prominent films shot in recent years in Malta include Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” Terrence Malick’s “The Way of the Wind” and Colin Trevorrow’s “Jurassic World Dominion.” The program, which will be revealed during the Cannes Film Festival, will showcase films from each of the MED9 (an alliance of nine Mediterranean and Southern European Union member states: Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) nations. Screenings will be accessible to the public, and the featured films will be in the running for various awards.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Picture Tree Intl. has come on board to handle the international sales of black comedy “Shooting Blanks,” written and directed by Žiga Virc (“Houston, We Have a Problem!”). The Slovenian film looks at what happens when a family goes to war with itself. The film is in post-production. PTI will present a first private market screening at the Marché du Film in Cannes. Vida’s father France worships his father, a hero of the partisan resistance. When a German supermarket chain decides to build a new store in his hometown, demolishing a statue of his father in the process, France declares war on this new “enemy.”

It’s a beautiful, sunny morning and we’re chatting to beaming dad-to-be Aljaž Škorjanec, who’s currently enjoying a babymoon in his native Slovenia with his wife Janette Manrara.The former Strictly pro has plenty of reasons to smile, as not only is fatherhood on the horizon, but he and It Takes Two host Janette have just moved into a gorgeous new home in Cheshire. “I’ve been ready to be a dad since I was about 20-years-old,” says Aljaž, 33, who is currently “relaxing and seeing family” in his homeland. “With our careers, it was always going to be completely down to Janette’s timing.

Janette Manrara showed off her growing baby bump as she enjoys a babymoon with husband Alijaz Skorjanec.The pair announced a few months ago that they are expecting their first child together, having moved from the hustle and bustle of London to settle down in Cheshire. Janette took to her Instagram page to share a photo of her bump while enjoying a few days away.