Cannes Classics: The Valley of Peace (1957) first awards for a black actor in Cannes

For the first time, a Slovenian film will be included in the program of the "Cannes Classics" section - a new version restored film by Štiglic France, VALLEY OF PEACE (DOLINA MIRU). Selected in the official competition in 1957, the film won the Best Actor Award for John Kitzmiller, the first black actor to receive the award in Cannes.

Kitzmiller (1913-1965) was a former captain in the US Army who began his acting career in Italian neorealist movies (SENZA PIETÀ, Ruthless) after being discovered by Luigi Zampa playing poker in a club officers. The first black actor to win an award at Cannes, Kitzmiller has performed many roles, including that of Quarrel in the cult film JAMES BOND 007 AGAINST DR NO (1962).

In VALLEY OF PEACE, he plays the role of Sergeant Jim, whose fighter plane was shot down. He is wanted by the Germans and by the supporters, who try to help him. He met Lotti (Eveline Wohlfeiler), aged four, and Marko (Tugo Štiglic, the son of the director - now also director), aged nine, who have just lost their parents in an air raid. They are in search of a valley where there was apparently still peace, perhaps one where Marco's uncle owns a house.

Sergeant Jim takes the children under his protection, even if it may be discovered by the Germans. It turns out that the abandoned house of the uncle is not the safe place they had hoped, becoming instead the battlefield between the Germans and supporters who came to the rescue of Sergeant, advising children to escape.

Filming began on April 21, 1956. The screenplay was written by Ivan Ribič, at the time a young Slovenian writer who had originally chosen North Korea as a place where the story takes place. However, they soon found heaven on earth - wanted by the children and the American soldier - at home, among Slovenian hills.

 At the end of filming THE PEACE VALLEY in July 24, 1956, an article in the leading Slovenian newspaper announced "Good prospects for the production of Slovenian and Yugoslav films." They were right. With its symbolism and its universal message, the film became an instant classic.

The "new film by Slovenian author" was premiered at Pula Film Festival, and following some changes to editing, the film was released in Slovenia. A shorter version was planned locally, while the longer version - more spectacular and called Sergeant Jim (Jim Sergeant) went to the international market. The Naši razgledi newspaper (Our views) has reported that VALLEY OF PEACE reached fifty thousand spectators after one month on the Slovenian screens, more than any other film that year.

 Štiglic France (1919-1993), director of the VALLEY OF PEACE, had already had a film selected at the festival, his previous work On native soil - the first Slovenian movie sound - was premiered in Cannes in 1949. His film, THE NINTH CIRCLE, was nominated in 1961 for an Oscar for best foreign Film at the 33rd Academy Awards ceremony.

 Selected in competition at Cannes in 1957, PEACE VALLEY found himself competing with future classics like THE LAW OF THE LORD William Wyler with Gary Cooper, THE NIGHTS CABIRIA Federico Fellini (Oscar for Best Foreign Film) , a SENTENCED tO DEATH HAS ESCAPED OR WIND BLOWS WHERE HE WANTS Robert Bresson, HE WHO MUST dIE Jules Dassin and tHE SEVENTH SEAL Ingmar Bergman.

Roger Regent - The film technique (1957): "A Yugoslav film presents itself so rare that we must not lose an image. This offers another advantage: it is excellent [...] symbols.. who would appear from this brief summary are actually much more discreet and melted in this film from director Štiglic France to whom the greatest compliments we did for its sobriety and technical mastery. "

The Slovenian Film Centre was responsible for the digital restoration VALLEY OF PEACE, the second film to be awarded funding for restoration after the last year - THE BANQUET OF FUNERAL (1969) Matjaž Klopčič. Following the presentation of the film in the "Cannes Classics" section, the restored version of THE VALLEY OF PEACE will be screened on August 23 on the Ljubljana central square to mark the 25th anniversary of the independence of Slovenia.

According Jožko Rutar, director of the Slovenian Film Centre, "The restoration of VALLEY OF PEACE, a masterpiece of Slovenian cinema, was absolutely necessary; this will allow the movie to find a new audience and continue to be popular in Slovenia and abroad. We are honored to present the restored version in first in the "Cannes Classics" as the first Slovenian movie part of the program, where the films are carefully selected and attract attention moviegoers worldwide. "