Janez Bricelj, film editor
Recipient of the 2025 Milka and Metod Badjura Lifetime Achievement Award
The judges for the 2025 Milka and Metod Badjura Award: Jerca Jerič, Matjaž Žbontar, Urška Kos, Janez Burger, Rado Likon
Janez Bricelj has collaborated on more than 170 film and television titles in his long and prolific career as a picture and sound editor, creating an extensive body of varied film editing work.
Bricelj showed an interest in film and music at an early age, so it came as no surprise that in the early 1970s, he applied for a job in picture and sound editing at Viba Film. At the time, the studio needed an editing assistant for Hang on, Doggy (‘Sreča na vrvici’, 1977), whose editor was the legendary Dušan Povh. Thanks to Bricelj’s precision and attention to sound, he was soon promoted from editing assistant to sound editor. This was a crucial milestone in his life, one which allowed him to spend the following few years of his budding career editing sound. The films he worked on as a sound editor most notably include Spring Celebration (‘Praznovanje pomladi’, 1978), directed by France Štiglic, which won the award for best sound at the 25th Pula Film Festival.
In 1980, Viba Film enabled him to study part-time at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. The first feature film he worked on as an editor was A Summer in a Sea-Shell 2 (‘Poletje v školjki 2′, 1988), directed by Tugo Štiglic. In the following years, Bricelj edited feature films by numerous acclaimed Slovenian filmmakers, including Matjaž Klopčič, France Štiglic, Metod Pevec, Marko Naberšnik, Goran Vojnović, and others.
For his work on the feature film Piran – Pirano by director Goran Vojnović, he received the Vesna Award for Best Editing at the 2010 Festival of Slovenian Film. His oeuvre also includes editing jobs for many short feature, animated and documentary films, among which (A)Torsion (‘(A)torzija’, 2002) by director Stefan Arsenijević deserves special mention.
The fact that Bricelj began his professional career in sound recording and editing, only later moving on to picture editing, has had a critical impact on his approach to work. According to his regular collaborators, he likes to compare film to music. He listens to films. For him, the film reel on the editing table is a musical score that must be heard and felt to find the right rhythm in which it will sound best. Janez Bricelj knows film inside out, understands its complex nature and, above all, how sensitive it is, how every superfluous or missing frame can change everything. Therefore, he handles film with care, reviewing footage over and over again, selecting the takes with the best acting and determining the right length of each shot and sequence. This requires patience, diligence, and the ability to work in a team. Janez Bricelj possesses all these qualities, which make him one of the most prominent film editors in Slovenia.
In addition to his pursuits in a professional filmmaking environment, one should not overlook his work with students at the Ljubljana Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film, and Television. Bricelj has collaborated on more than 30 student films. It is beyond doubt that for students, working with him expanded their horizons of what is possible in the editing process, as demonstrated by the successful and fruitful continuation of his collaboration with some of them. Bricelj has not only edited their films, but also shared with them his knowledge, experience and, just as importantly, his personal attitude. He has always been respectfully reserved yet extremely cooperative and supportive of young creatives.
Throughout his career, Janez Bricelj has stayed loyal to cinema and to his profession, which requires editors to take an independent creative approach, not only relying on the script but searching the footage for the potential to make a good film.
His mastery of editing techniques has left an indelible mark on Slovenian cinema, which is why we are awarding the Milka and Metod Badjura Lifetime Achievement Award for 2025 to Janez Bricelj.
filmography (selection)
feature films
Komedija solz / A Comedy of Tears, dir Marko Sosič, Arsmedia, 2016
Rdeča raketa /, dir Vojko Anzeljc, VPK – Videoprodukcija Kregar, 2015
Čefurji raus! / Southern Scum Go Home!, dir Goran Vojnović, Arsmedia, 2013
Šanghaj / Shanghai Gypsy, dir Marko Naberšnik, Arsmedia, 2012
Vaje v objemu / Tango Abrazos, dir Metod Pevec, Vertigo, RTV Slovenija, 2012
Piran – Pirano, dir Goran Vojnović, Arsmedia, 2010
Petelinji zajtrk / Rooster’s Breakfast, dir Marko Naberšnik, Arsmedia, 2007
Estrellita – pesem za domov / Estrellita, dir Metod Pevec, Mediopolis Film, Vertigo, 2006
Ljubljana je ljubljena / Ljubljana the Beloved, dir Matjaž Klopčič, Arsmedia, 2005
Pod njenim oknom / Beneath Her Window, dir Metod Pevec, E-Motion film, 2003
Šelestenje / Rustling Landscapes, dir Janez Lapajne, Triglav film, 2002
Zadnja večerja / The Last Supper, dir Vojko Anzeljc, MANGART, 2001
Nepopisan list / What Now, Luka?, dir Jane Kavčič, Arsmedia, 2000
Patriot, dir Tugo Štiglic, Timaro Productions, 1998
Carmen, dir Metod Pevec, Vertigo, E-Motion film, 1995
Poletje v školjki 2 / A Summer in a Sea-Shell 2, dir Tugo Štiglic, Filmski studio Viba film, 1988
documentary feature films
Dom / Home, dir Metod Pevec, Vertigo, 2015
Aleksandrinke / The Alexandrians, dir Metod Pevec, Vertigo, 2011
docufiction feature films
Cankar, dir Amir Muratović, Cebram, 2018
TV documentary feature films
Edi Šelhaus: Bil sem zraven / Edi Šelhaus: I Was There, dir Jurij Gruden, Arsmedia, 2007
Film pred oltarjem / The Film Before the Altar, dir Metod Pevec, E-Motion film, 2006
short films
100 točk / Top Score, dir Peter Hvalica, UL AGRFT, 2013
Časotresk / Timeturn, dir Tosja Flaker Berce, UL AGRFT, 2012
Limonada / Lemonade, dir Maja Prettner, UL AGRFT, 2012
Kje si stari? / What’s Up, Dude?, dir Tosja Flaker Berce, UL AGRFT, 2011
Nad mestom se dani / Sunrise over the City, dir Blaž Završnik, UL AGRFT, 2011
Trst je naš! / Trieste is Ours!, dir Žiga Virc, UL AGRFT, 2009
Sestrična / The Cousin, dir Kaya Tokuhisa, UL AGRFT, 2008
Moj sin, seksualni manijak / My Son, a Sexual Maniac, dir Goran Vojnović, Arsmedia, 2006
Rezina življenja / A Slice of Life, dir Martin Turk, Arsmedia, 2006
Črvi / Worms, dir Robert Černelč, UL AGRFT, 2003
Dan v mestu / A Day in the City, dir Nina Blažin, UL AGRFT, 2003
Vlažnost 81% / Humidity 81%, dir Matjaž Ivanišin, UL AGRFT, 2003
(A)torzija / (A)Torsion, dir Stefan Arsenijević, Studio Arkadena, 2002
Boš pa mrzlo jedo / So, You’ll Eat It Cold, dir Miha Mlaker, UL AGRFT, 2002
Fužine zakon / Fužine Rules, dir Goran Vojnović, UL AGRFT, 2002
Selitev / Moving Away, dir Jurij Gruden, UL AGRFT, 2002
Nekoga moraš imeti rad / You Need To Love Somebody, dir Jurij Gruden, UL AGRFT, 2001
Pavle, dir Marko Naberšnik, UL AGRFT, 2001
Zlato srce / Golden Heart, dir Klemen Dvornik, UL AGRFT, 2001
Cesta / Road, dir Arne Brejc, UL AGRFT, 2000
Hop, Skip & Jump, dir Srđan Vuletić, Studio Arkadena, 2000
Lesi se vrača / Lassie Returns, dir Jan Zakonjšek, A Atalanta, 2000
Kratka himna domovini / A Short Anthem For My Country, dir Boris Palčič, A Atalanta, 1999
Carpe diem, dir Mitja Novljan, Vertigo, 1997
Križci in krožci / Tic Tac Toe, dir Aleksandra Vokač, Filmski studio Viba film, E-Motion film, RTV Slovenija, 1992
Balkanski revolveraši, dir Maja Weiss, UL AGRFT, 1991
Mesto / The City, dir Tugo Štiglic, Filmski studio Viba film, 1987
Kmetijskega proizvajalca Mikolaša prvi dopust / Mikolaš Farmer Worker’s First Holidays, dir Filip Robar-Dorin, Filmski studio Viba film, 1984
Pogine naj pes … / Dog Shall Die, dir Andrej Mlakar, Filmski studio Viba film, 1981
Ristanc, dir Filip Robar-Dorin, Filmski studio Viba film, 1981
documentary short films
Piščalka / The Whistle, dir Naško Križnar, Bindweed Soundvision, 2001
Minute za film / Minutes for Film, dir Dušan Prebil, Filmski studio Viba film, 1993
Portret Jožeta Galeta / Portrait of Jože Gale, dir Hadi Talal, Filmski studio Viba film, 1992
Kasač, dir Tugo Štiglic, Filmski studio Viba film, 1984
Josipdol, dir Igor Prodnik, Filmski studio Viba film, 1983
Zadnje lastovke / Last of the Swallows, dir Marika Milkovič Bilanović, Filmski studio Viba film, 1979
animated short films
En prišparan tolar / A Tolar Saved, dir Borko Radešček, Eka Vogelnik, KUD Cineast, 1999
Made in Ex-Yu, dir Zdravko Barišić, Atelje za risani film – ARF, 1992
Copy, dir Boris Benčič, Filmski studio Viba film, 1987
Poljubi mehka me radirka / Kiss Me Gentle Rubber, dir Zvonko Čoh, Filmski studio Viba film, 1984
animated TV series
Hribci, dir Marjan Manček, DZS – Državna založba Slovenije, 1993
Basni, dir Bojan Jurc, Sfinga, 1989
Medved Bojan / Bojan the Bear, dir Branko Ranitović, Dušan Povh, RTV Ljubljana, Studio 37, 1978