Filmski in televizijski režiser Žiga Virc je diplomiral na Akademiji za gledališče, radio, film in televizijo v Ljubljani. Njegov diplomski film "Trst je naš!" je bil finalist na podelitvi študentskih oskarjev leta 2010.

Leta 2016 je izšel njegov celovečerni prvenec "Houston, imamo problem!" je bil izdan. To leto je postal drugi najbolj gledan slovenski film v kinematografih. Po premieri v Tribeci v New Yorku aprila 2016 je film dočakal evropsko festivalsko premiero v tekmovalnem programu Karlovy Vary, v Pulju pa osvojil 2. mesto po anketah občinstva. Na Festivalu slovenskega filma je film prejel glavno nagrado za najboljši celovečerni film, za najboljšo moško vlogo in za najboljšo montažo. Film je bil sprejet v tekmovalne sekcije BFI London, Portorož, Varšava, Zürich, DokuFest Prizren, Stockholm, Helsinki, Trst ... Film je bil slovenski kandidat za tujejezičnega oskarja, julija 2017 pa ga je izdal tudi Netflix.

Njegov kratki igrani film »Nov dom« je imel svetovno premiero septembra 2016 na mednarodnem filmskem festivalu v Torontu, od takrat pa je bil sprejet na več kot 100 festivalov in je prejel 10 nagrad.

Žiga je režiral tudi številne korporativne filme, TV reklame, dokumentarne filme, kratke igrane filme in zanje prejel več nagrad, med drugim glavno slovensko študentsko nagrado. Kot avtor je sodeloval s televizijo oz. ponudniki vsebin HBO Europe, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Al Jazeera, RTV Slovenija, finski YLE, italijanski RAI, Netflix itd.

Njegovo delo je bilo opaženo v stotinah medijskih objav, intervjujev in recenzij, vključno s ključnimi svetovnimi filmskimi mediji, kot so Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Wrap, Eye On Film. Leta 2012 je zaključil enoletno šolanje na Documentary Campus Masterschool. Bil je član žirije sekcije dokumentarnega filma na filmskem festivalu v Varšavi oktobra 2016. Januarja 2017 je bil gostujoči predavatelj v ZDA na Univerzi Columbia, Univerzi Michigan in Univerzi Pennsylvania.

Leta 2017 je zaključil celoletno delavnico EAVE (European Audio Visual Enterpreneurs), leta 2018 pa je razvil scenarij za nov igrani film na mednarodni delavnici Sources2 na Norveškem. Film je v predprodukciji. Leta 2020 je njegov kratki muzikal Osvoboditev libida začel svojo festivalsko pot.

SYNOPSYS:

A historical observational documentary, highlighting ordinary people during the breakup of Slovenia from Yugoslavia. An intimate insight into the hot summer of 1991, when ordinary people were suddenly confronted by a much stronger Yugoslav army. Made possible by a wide-ranging campaign of collecting the never-before-seen home video footage, the film places viewers in an audio-visual time machine and takes them to a chaotic period before, during and after the process of Slovenia gaining its independence. It shows that every major historic event consists of many ordinary, tiny, naive, poignant, frightening but inspiring moments away from the spotlight.

TEAM:

DIRECTOR:

Film and television director Žiga Virc graduated from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana. His graduation film "Trieste is ours!" was a Finalist at 2010 Student Academy Awards.

In 2016, his feature-length debut “Houston, we have a problem!” was released. It became the second most watched Slovenian film in cinemas that year. After its premiere at Tribeca in New York in April 2016, the film had its European festival premiere in the Karlovy Vary competition program, won 2nd place in Pula according to the audience's polls. At the Slovenian Film Festival, the film won the main award for the best feature film, for the best male role and for the best editing. The film was accepted in competition sections at BFI London, Portorož, Warsaw, Zurich, DokuFest Prizren, Stockholm, Helsinki, Trieste... Film was Slovenia's candidate for a foreign language Oscar, and in July 2017 it was also released by the Netflix.

His short feature film “A New Home” had its world premiere in September 2016 at the Toronto International Film Festival and has since been accepted to more than 100 festivals and won 10 awards.

Žiga has also directed many corporate films, TV commercials, documentaries, short feature films and received several awards for them, including the Slovenian main academic student award. As an author, he collaborated with television or. content providers HBO Europe, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Al Jazeera, RTV Slovenia, Finland's YLE, Italy's RAI, Netflix etc.

His work has been noted by hundreds of media releases, interviews and reviews, including in key global film media such as Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Wrap, Eye On Film. In 2012, he completed a year-long schooling at the Documentary Campus Masterschool. He was a member of the jury of the documentary film section at the Warsaw Film Festival in October 2016. In January 2017, he was a guest lecturer in the United States at the University of Columbia, the University of Michigan, and the University of Pennsylvania.

In 2017, he completed the full-year EAVE (European Audio Visual Enterpreneurs) workshop, and in 2018, he developed a screenplay for a new feature film at the Sources2 international workshop in Norway. The film is in pre-production. In 2020, his short musical Liberation of Libido began its festival journey.