Region: Carinthia, Slovenia

Carinthia, southern Austria, 1942. Mila and her brother Hanzi, both Carinthian Slovenians, join the armed resistance to German occupation. Mila becomes a commander of a partisan group at the age of 20 and soon finds herself making decisions about life and death. When the surviving family members return home after the war, Mila is once again faced with the choice between resistance and adaptation.

Director Andrina Mračnikar, herself a member of the Austrian Slovenian minority, has always shown particular sensitivity to this topic. And so, the protagonist’s personal story immediately takes on universal connotations, particularly in the specific historical period we are currently living through.

WORLD PREMIERE: Zurich Film Festival 2026
AWARDS: Audience Award at the Zurich Film Festival 2026

STATEMENT BY DIRECTOR ANDRINA MRAČNIKAR:
“This is the first time that the story of Austria’s Slovenian minority and its resistance to National Socialism has been told in a feature film. The film’s story is closely linked to my own family’s experiences and has been on my mind for as long as I can remember. That this film about a young woman who joins the anti-fascist resistance has received the Zurich Film Festival’s Audience Award means a great deal to me for that very reason.”

DIRECTOR’S BIO:
Andrina Mračnikar (born in 1981 in Hallein, Austria; grew up in Carinthia/Koroška and Slovenia) studied film directing at the AGRFT (Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television) in Ljubljana and film directing and screenwriting at the Vienna Film Academy. A winner of numerous awards, following her documentary trilogy comprising “Andri 1924–1944” (2003), “Der Kärntner spricht Deutsch” (2006) and “Disappearing / Izginjanje” (2022), “Mila/Marija” is her first feature-length fiction film to tackle this subject.

INTERVIEW with Andrina Mračnikar:
«War isn’t simply finished when it’s officially over.»
Interview at Austrian Films