Despite their ire, inhabitants of “Sevnica are happy for” the U.S. first lady, he said. “We perceive [Melania’s return to the White House] with satisfaction and pride, above all, those citizens who know the Knavs family and are their friends,” he concluded.
Slovenian film director Jurij Gruden also felt the “Melania effect” when he decided to make the first documentary-length production on the first lady. He admits that he wasn’t particularly interested in her life until his foreign colleagues pointed out that this was a once-in-a-lifetime moment for his home country — one worth documenting.
“While making this documentary, I also got to experience what it means to be part of the Trump ecosystem in terms of the attention, but also at times the immediate and automatic condemnation it draws, even when you’re just doing a documentary,” he said.
The reactions of colleagues and others was harsh when he told them what he was working on. “The polarization is insanely strong and it immediately affects you when you cover her or the Trumps in general,” explained Gruden.
“It’s difficult to have a rational conversation, no matter what side of the political spectrum you belong to,” he said.
‘An atypical Slovenian’
Both Gruden and Ocvirk stressed that their interest in or support of Melania Trump was not a political endorsement of the policies of her husband.
