Filming in Ljubljana - Ljubljana makes an excellent film set

All who come to Ljubljana fall in love with the city. Thoughtfully designed architecture, the green river, wonderful squares and bridges, numerous verdant spaces, ponds and the close proximity of unspoilt nature – all of this looks like an excellent film set. And it is as a picturesque and dramatic setting for movie magic that Ljubljana has proven itself many times.

filmska ljubljana

Small distances between several excellent locations

One of the advantages of the green capital is its diversity. It takes only a few minutes to go from busy city roads to the countryside or even into the midst of unspoilt nature. Plains, hills, tidy city parks, river embankments, forests or meadows. From the old city centre to modern urban scenes. Ljubljana has it all!

Bollywood and Korean television discover Ljubljana

The first to notice the advantages of filming in Ljubljana in recent years were film-makers from India. The city became an excellent background for action and romantic films. In two years (2013–2014), the capital of Slovenia was chosen as the backdrop for as many as 5 Indian feature films. And these were not even all of the Indian productions to be filmed in Ljubljana during this period.

The trailer for the film Super Ranga, which was at the same time also the music video of the first song entitled Dance Raja, was almost entirely filmed in Ljubljana.

Ljubljana has been recently discovered by Korean television creators as well. In 2016, the TV show Dear My Friends, which is very popular in Korea, was filmed in Ljubljana, Piran and Bled; the show is about friendship and love regardless of obstacles and age.

Historical Ljubljana

Quite a few interesting events from European history have been portrayed on film in Ljubljana. The period settings can differ greatly.

As early as 1965, when the Italian film based on French material Madamigella di Maupin was filmed in Ljubljana, the 17th century came to life between the façades of Ljubljana's old houses.

A few scenes of the Austrian historical drama entitled Wir sind am Leben, which is based on true events and is about saving 150 Jewish children from the concentration camps during World War II, were filmed in Ljubljana instead of Austria.

The co-production film Bićemo prvaci sveta is about the peak period of Yugoslav basketball in 1970, when the Yugoslav national team won the world championship title in Ljubljana.

The old city centre provides excellent opportunities for filming different periods of history.

The wonderful and dreamlike world of advertisements

Ljubljana is also excellent for technically demanding and short formats, such as advertisements. In 2015, our city was picked for the filming of two top car advertisements. This is how Jaguar Alive purred into Ljubljana, prowling even in the squares and streets that are usually closed to traffic.

Advertisement:

Making of:

The advertisement for the Honda Civic Type R, which was also filmed in Ljubljana and Rijeka that same year, was innovative and interactive and even received the Gold Lion at the Cannes advertising festival. These are only two high profile examples, while there are endless possibilities!

Recently this excellent advertisement for the Finnish branch of Lidl was filmed in Ljubljana by the Lucy Loves Stories production company.

Slovenia – the camera loves her!

A special and additional reason for filming is given by the whole of Slovenia, which is one of the most attractive locations in Europe – ideal light, diverse climate, unspoilt nature and well-preserved architectural sights in different regions are available within a maximum two hour drive. It is so magical that Slovenia also hosted the filming of the fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia – Prince Caspian. All interested in filming in Ljubljana or anywhere else in Slovenia should contact the Slovenia Film Commission.