Berlinale’s ‘Little Trouble Girls,’ Which Explores ‘Awkward Relationship With Sexuality, Sin and Feelings of Guilt,’ Picked Up by Heretic, Trailer Debuts (EXCLUSIVE)
Athens-based sales agent Heretic has added Slovenian director Ur?ka Djuki?’s “Little Trouble Girls,” which has its world premiere in Berlin Film Festival’s Perspectives section – dedicated to fiction feature debuts – to its slate. The trailer debuts below.
The film focuses on introverted 16-year-old Lucia, who joins her Catholic school’s all-girl choir, where she befriends Ana-Maria, a popular and flirty third-year student. But when the choir travels to a countryside convent for a weekend of intensive rehearsals, Lucia’s interest in a dark-eyed restoration worker tests her friendship with Ana-Maria and the other girls. As she navigates unfamiliar surroundings and her budding sexuality, Lucia begins to question her beliefs and values, disrupting the harmony within the choir.
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In a statement, Djuki? said: “I began by exploring the female voice, which has been silenced so often throughout history. This led me to the awkward relationship with sexuality, sin, and feelings of guilt. Through a sensitive young girl shaped by societal conventions of sinfulness, I wanted to delve into how a young person finds their own inner power.
“These feelings of guilt surrounding natural instincts are something I personally experienced while growing up. Although my family wasn’t strictly religious, my mother raised me according to traditional Catholic ideas of what a ‘good girl’ should be like. Later, I realized these ideas, imposed on many generations of girls, including mine — particularly those regarding body image, shame and sexuality —are rigid and clumsy.
“With ‘Little Trouble Girls,’ I wanted to explore the mysteries of the senses as tools for understanding ourselves. I think the long-standing taboo around sexuality has left us still unable to fully understand or harness its potential power. The body has its own instinctive intelligence, guiding us if we listen carefully. The concept of sinful sexuality and the lack of education around it is a clever mechanism to disconnect individuals from their inner source of power. I’d say its important to allow ourselves to hear and trust our intuition, even when it contradicts societal norms. People deeply connected to their bodies are less easily controlled because they trust their internal guidance more than external directives.”
In 2019, Djuki? participated in the 39th edition of the Cannes Cinéfondation Residency, where she developed “Little Trouble Girls,” which was later awarded as the best work-in-progress project at the Les Arcs Film Festival in December 2023.
Djuki?’s most recent short film “Granny’s Sexual Life” has won over 50 awards, including the European Film Award for best short film in 2022 and the 2023 Cesar Award for best animated short film. Previous short films by Djuki? also include “The Right One,” part of the omnibus film “SEE Factory Sarajevo Mon Amour” that premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in 2019.
Ioanna Stais, Heretic’s head of sales and acquisitions, commented: “’Little Trouble Girls’ is an intimate and striking exploration of desire, friendship and faith, told with rare sensitivity and boldness. Effortlessly weaving raw emotion with a unique perspective, the film promises to engage audiences and buyers alike. With this assured debut, Ur?ka Djuki? announces herself as a compelling new female voice in cinema, one to watch in the years to come.”
“Little Trouble Girls” is produced by Jozko Rutar and Miha ?ernec for Spok Films (Slovenia), in co-production with Staragara IT (Italy), 365 Films (Croatia), Non Aligned Films (Serbia), and Nosorogi and OINK (both Slovenia). The associate producer is Sister (France).
The film is supported by the Slovenian Film Centre, Eurimages, RTV Slovenija, Viba Film, Ministero di Cultura – Direzione Cinema e Audiovisivo in Italy, FVG Flm Fund, FVG Film Commission, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Film Centre Serbia, Re-act, Region Nouvelle Aquitaine and Creative Europe Media.
The film is sponsored by Arri’s International Support Program and GO Nova Gorica/Gorizia European Capital of Culture 2025.
Heretic is also handling international sales for the IFFR Tiger Competition title “Wind, Talk to Me,” and is a producer on Berlinale Competition title “Hot Milk,” the debut feature film of Rebecca Lenkiewicz (writer of “Ida,” “Disobedience,” “She Said”), starring Vicky Krieps, Emma Mackey and Fiona Shaw.
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