The first Slovenian film to be included in the prestigious section Cannes Classics, The Valley of Peace returned to the festival in 2016 after being selected for the official competition in 1957, with John Kitzmiller taking home the award for Best Actor.
Slovenia, WWII. A Slovenian boy Marko and a German girl Lotti have just lost their families in an air-raid. They once heard of a lost valley where there is always peace. As they set out to find it, they come upon Sergeant Jim (John Kitzmiller), whose fighter plane was shot down by the Germans. Although it means risking discovery by the enemy, the pilot cannot bring himself to abandon the children to their fate, and decides to help them find the valley of peace.
The newly restored and digitised version of The Valley of Peace received its national premiere at Open-air Cinema at Congress Square in 2016 under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Slovenia upon the 25th anniversary of Slovenia’s independence and the film’s 60th anniversary.
“A moving and sincere adventure.”
- Louis Chavet, Le Figaro (1957)
“Any Yugoslav film is such a rarity that one should not miss a single shot. This one offers even more: it’s truly excellent. /.../ The symbols that leap up from this brief description are in reality much more discretely woven into this film by director France Štiglic, who deserves the highest praise for his restraint and his technical skills.”
- Roger Regent, Le technique cinématographique (1957)