On 23 November 2021, the Zveza ŠKL (School Basketball League) organisation officially obtained a licence for Slovenia from FICTS, the world’s largest festival of sports documentary and feature films (https://www.sportmoviestv.com/en/). Slovenia thus joined a film community of 20 countries and became the 21st country to provide a venue for the international festival. Slovenia obtained the licence for a period of 10 years and with it the exclusive right to hold the sports film festival under the auspices of the FICTS.

The international FICTS festival unites 125 member countries from around the globe and is held in 20 countries (with Slovenia now becoming the 21st) spanning five continents. The festival’s lead partner is the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its chair is Prof Franco Ascani, member of the IOC Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission.

In addition to Zveza ŠKL, the festival’s organisers and partners in Slovenia include the Olympic Committee of Slovenia (OCS), the Slovenian Tourist Board (STB), the Institute and Academy of Multimedia (IAM), and the host town of Rogaška Slatina.

The festival will through the slogan  »Culture Through Sport« promote cultural and Olympic values, learning about the sporting spirit, and exploring Olympism. The festival’s repertoire will comprise around 35 to 40 feature-length films and documentaries on the topic of sports and Olympism, with several international films from the entire FICTS family, including some of the winning films from previous festivals. The best films of the festival will receive the Grand Prix award and the right to represent Slovenia at the final FICTS film festival in Milan, the city of the festival’s founder.

From left to right:Director of the Festival in Slovenia Peter Majerle, the President FICTS and the member of the IOC Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission. prof. Franco Ascani, owner of the license of the Festival in Slovenia Vojko Korošec

I address my cordial and warm greeting – on behalf of the 130 Member Countries of FICTS (Fédération Internationale Cinéma Télévision Sportifs) recognized by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) of which I am Member of the Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission, to you participating in the “ROGAŠKA SLATINA SPORTFILM INTERNATIONAL FICTS FESTIVAL” that Slovenia hosts for the first time and where I would have liked to bring personally my greetings.

The Festival, part of the “World FICTS Challenge”, is a special event for sports champions as well as for filmmakers who can bring spectators the magic of sport and has shown, during these years, how is possible to promote the cultural values of the sports movement through two tools of communication as cinema and television.

My special and sincere thanks, for the constant and strong organizational commitment, goes to all the talented Organizers and to the experts staff, in particular, to the President Dr Vojko Korošec and to Festival Director Dr Peter Majerle who strongly wanted to organize the Festival to promote sports culture.

I extend my warm greetings to the Authorities, to all those present, to the media and “my congratulations” to all of you as “Ambassadors” of the sporting values of excellence in the name of universality, friendship, brotherhood, solidarity, fair play and ethics. I would like to thanks the qualified Members of the Jury who will decide the winning movies that will compete in “Sport Movies & Tv 2022”, Final of the “World FICTS Challenge” scheduled in Milan (Italy) – Olympic City – from November 9 to 13. I invite all of you to attend.

Dear friends, I wish you all a very enjoyable Festival and good luck to all the movies in competition!
Our deserved applause goes to all of you.

Milan, May 20th, 2022

PRESIDENT of FICTS PROF. FRANCO ASCANI Member of the IOC Commission for Culture and Olympic Heritage

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