Article by Alessandra Sottini

Translation by Federica Riccardi

On an ordinary day, Manca Košir explains to his family the secret of the enchanting cherry blossom: its beauty captivates the observer, but its brittleness and the passage of time make quickly fade that instant of wonder. The eternity of being is enclosed in the celebratory activity of life, day by day. Slovenian director Nina Blažin, who has experienced first-hand the loss of a loved one, feels close to the joyful and combative personality of the protagonist of The Silence of Life, filmed between 2019 and 2023.

A play on oppositions, or a lyrical oxymoron, seems to suggest the title of the film in competition in the international documentary section of the 42nd Turin Film Festival. The Silence of Life seems to tell us that silence is not always the only weapon available against the inevitability of death: stricken by throat cancer, Manca opposes this adverse destiny with specific speech exercises.

The camera probes and observes this woman who is as tenacious as she is aware of her condition. However, the documentary gaze is not ‘cooled down’ by the usual techniques of tailing and approaching, because it is Manca herself who makes the viewer live her story: despite the oppressive weight of time passing by, it is herself who inhabits the space with gestures and words and colours the atmosphere with her clothes (overall red, yellow and pink).

‘Death is part of our existence and we must take as such’. This is the indelible trace left by Manca Košir, then.