Director of Berlin Film ‘Little Trouble Girls’ Lines Up Witch Trial Drama ‘Veronika of Desenice’ and ‘Wild Woman,’ About the Acting Process (EXCLUSIVE)

Slovenian director Urška Djukić, whose feature directorial debut, “Little Trouble Girls,” makes its world premiere Feb. 14 as the opening film of Berlinale’s Perspectives section, is developing two new projects, she has told Variety.

The projects are being produced by Djukić through her production company, Oink, alongside Luka Peterca.

The first, with the working title “Veronika of Desenice,” is set in the 15th century in a region of the Holy Roman Empire that is now Slovenia. It tells the tragic real-life story of the love between the Count of Celje Frederick II and his wife Veronika. Veronika was accused by her father-in-law of being a witch, but sought sanctuary in a Carthusian monastery, aided by the monk Prior Arnold.

“Today, 600 years after Veronika’s death, this story of the first witch trial in Slovenia remains integral to our cultural identity,” Djukić told Variety. “I remember how, as children in school, we read novels inspired by Veronika’s story. However, these works — all written by men — portrayed Veronika as a fragile, submissive woman, passively awaiting her fate.

“Yet, the fact is she defied one of the most powerful noblemen of that time, Count Hermann II of Celje, which suggests the opposite — Veronica was not as helpless an observer of her destiny as men in history thought. She was an extraordinary woman who resisted a world that did not favor her. That is why I feel this is an important story that I must tell from a female perspective.”

The second project is “Wild Woman,” which is “a psychological exploration of the acting process — how it affects actors’ lives and how it all manifests in the creative process,” Djukić said.

In the story, a young actor, Nina, seeks the help of an older actor, Irena, to prepare for an important new film role. During improvisational exercises, the film will observe how both actors, through acting, “uncover their fears and traumas, and their wild feminine nature,” Djukić said.

Djukić is writing the script with actress Nataša Burger through a series of improvisational workshops that they are conducting with Mina Švajger, one of the leads in “Little Trouble Girls.”

“Little Trouble Girls” centers on introverted 16-year-old Lucia, who joins the all-girls choir at her Catholic school, where she befriends Ana-Maria, a popular and flirty student. During a weekend retreat at a remote countryside convent for intensive rehearsals, Lucia’s growing fascination with a restoration worker begins to strain her bond with Ana-Maria and the rest of the choir.

The film is produced by Spok Films and Staragara, and is being sold by Heretic.