Experiencing Interruptions?

Forgotten ritual

What if it only takes 18 seconds to find fulfillment?

  • Mirjam Hlastan
    Director
    Color blindness, Daydreaming
  • Mirjam Hlastan
    Writer
    Color blindness, Daydreaming
  • Mirjam Hlastan
    Producer
    Color blindness, Daydreaming
  • Christina Siemoneit
    Key Cast
    Alles was zählt, Lemon or Raspberry
  • Alexander Peterhaensel
    Color grading
    Wata
  • Adam Matschulat Aguiar
    Sound mixing / Music / Foley / Mastering
    Tom, Ensaio sobre o amor, Alumbrones, Sabor Maçã, The Visit, Un día en Smara, Best Before End
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 27, 2015
  • Country of Origin:
    Slovenia
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany
  • Language:
    German
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35,1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 2015 Tirana International Film Festival
    Tirana, Albania
    October 31, 2015
    Official selection - short film competition
  • 2015 Slovenian film festival
    Portoroz, Slovenia
    September 15, 2015
    Official selection - PANORAMA I
  • 2015 Szczecin European Film Festival
    Szczecin, Poland
    October 18, 2015
    Official selection - videoART
  • 2015 Cannes film festival
    Cannes, France
    May 20, 2015
    World premiere
    Short film corner
  • 2016 China Women's film festival
    Beijing, China
  • 2016 ILLUMINATE film festival
    Sedona
    United States
    US premiere
  • 2017 Visegrád Forum - Filmfest Dresden
    Dresden
    Germany
    April 6, 2017
  • 2019 Lift-Off August Sessions
    London
    United Kingdom
    August 14, 2019
    Official Selection
  • 2019 Blowup film fest - Chicago International Arthouse Film Fest
    Chicago
    United States
    November 10, 2019
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Mirjam Hlastan

Mirjam Hlastan was born in 1984 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

After graduating from Secondary School for Design and Photography, Ljubljana, she wrote/directed and produced her first short film “Color Blindness” which screened at the international film festival in New York City.

A year later, in 2005, she realized her second short film “Daydreaming” and took a job as a video editor at a local TV station.

During the production break on an award-winning stop-motion animation film “Kiddo-Slingshot”, where she worked as an assistant director, she was selected for and attended 2nd Sarajevo Talent Campus.

After working on over 120 projects in film and tv production, taking on roles of the director, writer, producer, editor, PA and AD and designer, she decided to pursue her personal and professional development abroad.

In 2011 she moved to Berlin, Germany.

During the years 2016 and 2017 she expanded her understanding of the film festival circuit even further by working the stand for Slovenian film center at European film market.

In 2017 she was selected to participate at 5th Innsbruck Film Campus. The same year she learned at TechOpenAir - 360 Video filming and streaming workshop and Media.Think.Tank conference at Babelsberg studio.

In 2019 she volunteered as a Helping Hand at Re:publica + Media Convention festival and attended a masterclass “International producing“ with acclaimed film producer Marleen Slot.

Her latest short film “Forgotten ritual“ screened at Cannes Short film Corner, Dresden film festival, Tirana film festival, Slovenian film festival, Illuminate Film Festival and Lift-Off August Sessions 2019.

Feeding her never-ending curiosity and desire to grow as a filmmaker and a business person she regularly attends events organized by the FilmTechOffice, Factory Berlin and The Family.

She is a member of Federal Association of German Film Directors (BVR), Filmnetzwerk Berlin and Crew-United.

At the moment she is working on numerous projects in various stages of production.

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Director Statement

In the modern world of multitasking, technology is not just an incredible tool helping us in our busy lives but seems to have become an unmissable member of our families. The presence of screens is the most popular focus in our daily lives. Tablets, TV, smartphones, laptops, desktops, iPods... we have never been more connected to the world around us. But what if we are not connected to the most important person we need to be? 

I chose to film in color with a completely black and white environment, costumes and props. The clinical set up creates focus on the main subject without distractions. It achieves a clean and linear feel to express the mechanical behavior of a HUMAN, who is using technology as the only tool to connect to other humans. BREATH is visually portrayed through the red balloon, a colorful dress as well as with kinetic typography representing movement and limited freedom. The sound represents an equal balance to the image and expresses the most popular and used tools via computer - typing emails and comments, sharing, Skype, email coming in, Facebook chat, Viber & WhatsApp notification messages to name a few. 

WHY I MADE THIS FILM?
To remind the current me, my future self and everyone else who forgot, or never knew to begin with, about the basic human task… breathing.