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Happy People, a Year in the Taiga Happy People, a Year in the Taiga

Werner Herzog, Dmitrij Vasjukov / Germany / 2011 / 80 min

An enchanting probe into the life of the huntsmen in Siberian taiga. According to director Werner Herzog, they maintain an “utterly free« existence in one of the world’s last untouched areas.

In the heart of the Siberian taiga, far from the clutches of civilisation, there lies Bakhta, a small village with only three hundred inhabitants. Accessible only by helicopter or boat, this outpost is free from phones or television, but also lacks running water and basic health care. Still cultivating century-old habits, the villagers have based their lives on tradition and their ancestors’ legacy. And if the Western civilisation one day became extinct, they would – so we believe – survive.

»Happy People: A Year in the Taiga was a complete stumbling of a film into me, almost literally. I went to the house of a friend, and I only stopped by because there was a huge parking spot nearby. I stopped and I knocked on his door. And I see on his plasma screen there’s something playing. He wanted to turn it off, and I said, “No, no, this looks interesting.« And I ended up watching four hours of this Russian film about hunters in Siberia [originally directed by Dmitry Vasyukov]. And I thought one should make an international version of it.« (Werner Herzog)

Wener Herzog
Born in Munich in 1942. He grew up in a remote mountain village in Bavaria and studied History and German Literature in Munich and Pittsburgh. He made his first film in 1961 at the age of 19. Since then he has written and directed over sixty feature- and documentary films. Herzog has published more than a dozen books of prose, and directed as many operas.

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What's On

Film Under the Stars / Avant Premiere

Wisdom of Happiness Wisdom of Happiness

Barbara Miller, Philip Delaquis

Wednesday, 16. 07. 2025 / 21:30 / The Ljubljana Castle

With disarming wit, the Dalai Lama reflects on balancing millennia-old Tibetan Buddhist traditions with the contemporary values of our globalised society that now struggles to overcome violence and war while standing on the brink of environmental collapse. In this intimate heart-to-heart, the nearly 90-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate and the world’s greatest ambassador for compassion brings a timely message of hope. Wisdom of Happiness blends the Dalai Lama’s inspirational words with stirring images of our planet and newly unearthed archival footage.

Little Trouble Girls Kaj ti je deklica

Urška Djukić

Thursday, 17. 07. 2025 / 21:30 / The Ljubljana Castle

Urška Djukić’s (Granny’s Sexual Life) debut feature explores the power of girls’ voices to overturn traditional ideas and patriarchal patterns through the eyes of a shy and sensitive 16-year-old girl, Lucija. The opening film of the Perspectives Competition and winner of the FIPRESCI Award for Best First Film at this year’s Berlinale.

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Friday, 18. 07. 2025 / 21:30 / The Ljubljana Castle

A much-anticipated biographical drama about the rise of one of the most influential songwriters in history, who changed the course of American music.