A delicately crafted charmer of a film, for a while Nejc Gazvoda’s colourful, funny and insightful film feels like a lesbian equivalent of Before Sunset as two young women wander the warm night-time streets of Ljubljana, talking, having fun and gradually coming under each other’s spell.

Due to a technical problem, a plane from Denmark heading to Greece lands at a Slovene airport, with the passengers eventually taken to a Ljubljana hotel for the night. Quiet young Dane Iben (Mia Jexen) can’t face waiting in the hotel and asks Tina (Nina Rakovec), who drove the minibus from the airport, to drive her around the city. Tina starts to fall for the fresh-faced Dane, but despite the fact that they seem very similar, one is hiding a terrible secret and the other is simply trying to find her place in the world.

While on the surface a love story, Dual is also a delicate drama about trying to adjust to where you want to go in life. The two leads are perfect, with Mia Jexen’s doe-eyed warmth and compassion a fine balance to Nina Rakovec’s nervy enthusiasm.

Mark Adams
Screen International

Winner, Best Actress, Slovenian Film Festival