Maja Weiss' inaugural documentary, "Jews in Slovenia," holds the distinction of being the first Slovenian film to shed light on the silenced and nearly forgotten memory of the Slovenian Jewish community and the Holocaust within Slovenia. Filmed in 1989 across various Slovenian cities, including Ljubljana, Maribor, Lendava, Murska Sobota, Koper, and Gorica, the documentary features interviews with key figures such as Drago and Šarika Hiršl, Ludvik Blau, Dr. Zlata Vokač Medic, and many others.
| Producer: |
RTV Slovenija |
| Director: |
Maja Weiss |
| Script: |
Maja Weiss, Alenka Hladnik |
Maja Weiss (1965) belongs to the middle generation of Slovenian filmmakers, who worked in independent Slovenia (26 years old) and paved the way for Slovenian films to participate in international film and television festivals. She is the first Slovenian female director of a feature film for the big screen, Guardian of the Border (2002), which received several international awards, including at the Berlinale for the most innovative European film - the Manfred Salzgeber Award - and a nomination from the European Film Academy - the Fassbinder Award. The greatest international success in the documentary field was achieved by the film The Road of Brotherhood and Unity (1998), which was ranked among the three best full-length digitally recorded documentaries in the world at the IDFI in Amsterdam, and the film Fant pobratim death (1991), which received the Silver Dove in Leipzig. Films co-authored with Tom Križnar about Sudan (Nuba, pure people, 1999, Dar Fur, war for water, 2007, Eyes and Ears of God, 2012) were screened and awarded all over the world, including an Amnesty International award. She has recorded more than 40 film and TV productions of all genres. With her sister Ida Weiss, she is the co-founder of Bela film (20 years, www.belafilm.si) and director of the Maja Weiss Institute (7 years). Since 2016, she has been a lecturer at the ESNM Higher Professional School in Novi Mesto.
