Petra Pan Film
Still from My Summer Holiday

A film by Petra Seliškar · 2025

My Summer
Holiday

A little shepherd spends his summers high in the mountains together with his dog friends.

Trailer Festivals Press (PDF)

Poster for My Summer Holiday
Original title
Poletne počitnice
Country
Slovenia, France, North Macedonia
Year · Length
2025 · 54 min
Genre
Creative documentary for young audiences
Language
Macedonian, Albanian
Format
DCP · colour · 2:1
World premiere
FIPADOC, Biarritz, January 2025
World sales
Open Kitchen Films

While most kids leave for summer holidays, 8-year-old Basri is eager to spend the break with his brothers in the Macedonian mountains.

For generations, his family has been shepherds, and today, his three older brothers are taking care of hundreds of sheep and dozens of cows, protected from the wolves by a loyal pack of dogs.

This summer, Basri will delve into learning the job, enjoying the wild nature, the feeling of freedom and the heavy duties of life dealing with the cycles of nature, far from the adult world. A dream life for him, while his older brothers begin to dream of a different future.

Sibling film The Mountain Won't Move The same mountains, the same family of shepherds: the feature-length film follows Basri's older brothers as they come of age. 2025 · 91 min
Festivals

On screen

6Festivals
5Countries

2025

  • FIPADOC, Biarritz, France · World premiere, Focus Balkans
  • ZagrebDox, Croatia · Regional Competition
  • Zlín Film Festival, Czech Republic · Competition of European Feature Documentaries for Young Audience
  • Ale Kino! International Young Audience Film Festival, Poznań, Poland · Polish premiere, Competition
  • Festival international du film d'éducation, Évreux, France · Short and Medium-Length Film Competition

2026

  • Slovenian Documentary Spring, Ljubljana, Slovenia · Showcase
Stills

From the film

Stills © Petra Pan Film

Director's statement

Petra Seliškar

Over the last five summers, I spent my time high up in the mountains, where children and animals seem to speak the same language. Some call it a retreat or an escape, but for me, it was a chance to experience the world of young shepherds.

I had the chance to interact with large Sharr dogs, who usually don't like strangers, but they allowed me to be around them. As I watched the children navigate their daily lives, I learned that living close to nature requires real willpower and awareness. I came to realise that true knowledge isn't just about what you learn in school, but also what you experience every day under the sun.

“True knowledge isn't just about what you learn in school, but also what you experience every day under the sun.”

My time there made me understand that the real dangers aren't only the wild predators, but the risk of losing ancient wisdom if we don't pay attention to preserve it. The children I met showed me the profound value of community and the bond between humans and animals. These experiences taught me the importance of appreciating each moment of our journey through life. We must hold onto these lessons and ensure that we share them with the next generations.

Read the full interview with Petra Seliškar on the sibling film's page

Director, writer & producer

Petra Seliškar

Petra Seliškar is a Slovenian documentary writer, director and producer with a rich experience and singular talent. She has flourished as a filmmaker with profound insight, sensibility, strong narrative force and innovative approaches. Seliškar has the ability to recognise hidden details, and through them discovers and highlights the essence in art, culture, nature and all aspects of life. She is currently filming her seventh feature-length documentary, Torso of an Old Cat.

Besides her own works, Seliškar has produced films by acclaimed international filmmakers, including Claudia Tosi, Peter Zach, Francesco Fei, Damian Nenadić, Jean-Robert Viallet, Ineke Smith and Iiris Saaren-Seppälä.

In 2003, Seliškar established the production company Petra Pan Film in Slovenia. She co-founded the MakeDox Creative Documentary Festival in Skopje, the Balkan Documentary Distribution Network (BDDN), the Doc Around Europe festival network and, most recently, the world sales agency Open Kitchen Films. She also works in education and training through platforms such as MakeDox's Docusprouts and Dokumentarnica in Slovenia.

Selected filmography
  • The Mountain Won't Move, 2025
  • My Summer Holiday, 2025 · for young audiences
  • Body, 2023 · Best Documentary, Festival of Slovenian Film; Sarajevo FF, FIPADOC, It's All True, ZagrebDox, DOK.fest München
  • Farewell, 2020 · Special Mention, Dok'n'Ritam Belgrade; Best Music Documentary, Grossman Film Festival
  • My World Is Upside Down, 2016 · Best International Documentary, Dok'n'Ritam Belgrade and Festival of Mediterranean Cinema Split
  • Mama Europa, 2013 · Best Documentary, Tuzla Film Festival; Rotterdam IFF, Sarajevo FF
  • Grandmothers of the Revolution, 2006 · IDFA, Jihlava IDFF; Grand Prix, Aster Fest Strumica
Credits

Crew & cast

Director
Petra Seliškar
Writers
Petra Seliškar, Tancrède Rivière
Cinematography
Brand Ferro
Additional cinematography
Branko Avramovski, Gjorgji Klincharov
Editor
Sashko Potter Micevski
Additional editor
Laureline Delom
Music
Iztok Koren
Music recording
Jernej Babnik Romaniuk
Sound design
Vladimir Rakić
Foley & sound effects editor
Vera Galešev
Voice-over
Nil Ferro Seliškar
Producers
Petra Seliškar, Victor Ede, Sara Ferro
Executive producers
Brand Ferro, Ivana Naceva
With
Basri, Zekir, Zarif, Besam and Zarife Zekirov

Produced by Petra Pan Film (Slovenia), Cinéphage Productions (France) and PPFP (North Macedonia), in co-production with Al Jazeera Balkans.

Supported by Slovenian Film Centre, CNC, Région Sud – Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, North Macedonia Film Agency, Eurimages, Creative Europe MEDIA.

Soundtrack · Murmur Records MRM.01.26

The Land of Šar

Iztok Koren: The Land of Šar, album cover

Iztok Koren's original music for My Summer Holiday and its sibling film The Mountain Won't Move, with a new long piece that links both films. Released on CD and digitally by Murmur Records, 2026.

Listen on murmur.si Review: Glasbena paša po Šar planini (Jan Kopač, Odzven / SIGIC, in Slovenian)

Contacts

ProductionPetra Pan Film
petrapanfilm@gmail.com

Co-productionCinéphage Productions
cinephage@cinephage.fr

Co-productionPPFP
ppfp.skopje@gmail.com

World salesOpen Kitchen Films
Petra Pan Film
petrapanfilm@gmail.com

Press kitDownload PDF (English)