Slovenia - Where Nature Comes First

Directors: Christine Sonvilla, Marc Graf

Where the Adriatic Sea and the Alps meet, there lies a small, surprisingly diverse country with stunning natural beauty, serving as a role model in terms of nature conservation for the rest of Europe.

The balance between using and protecting the land is achieved in a way that is almost unparalleled anywhere else in the world. Slovenia, one of the most sustainable countries in the world, sets a new benchmark by preserving habitat for endangered species, conducting careful economic development and supporting the comeback of large predators. Whether it's sustainable forest management enabling ural owls to nest where they otherwise couldn‘t, wading birds living next door to economically used salt pans, the reintroduction of lynx or the tolerance of having a brown bear - the largest of all European predators - visit your private garden. Slovenia is refreshingly different.

This nature documentary tells the story of coexistence between humans and nature in a thought-provoking and emotive manner and by means of presenting enchanting landscapes and impressive wildlife stories.
Majestic mountains, deep gorges filled with crystal-clear rivers, mysterious intermittent lakes that disappear into labyrinthine karst caves and vast forests shape the country. Shy and hidden predators such as golden jackals, lynx and brown bears find a home here, also because many people act as their environmental advocates.
The impressive mating rituals of the brown bears, the dance of millions of mayflies and the hatching of the fragile juvenile marbled trout are among the highlights of this nature documentary.

"Slovenia – Where Nature Comes First" puts a small country into the spotlight, which plays a pioneering role in Europe and shows that even in densely populated Europe it is possible for people and nature to thrive in unison. A small country with a great impact.

Director Biography - Christine Sonvilla, Marc Graf

Marc Graf and Christine Sonvilla are award-winning photographers, filmmakers, storytellers, writers and speakers holding university degrees in biology and have a work focus on nature conservation and wildlife topics.
They have more than 12 years of experience in their field, have received accolades at Wildlife Photographer of the Year and other prestigious photography contests and have published around 200 stories in magazines including National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, GEO, Terre Sauvage or Terra Mater.
They have carried out assignments for e.g. national parks, NGOs such as WWF and created TV nature documentaries for European TV stations such as ORF, NDR, ARTE and ZDF.
Together with dreiD.at filmproductions they created their first feature TV nature documentary “Slovenia – Where Nature Comes First”, working as cinematographers, directors and writers.