Laurens Bubendorfer.
Nature lover, fly fisherman, filmmaker.

The Soča Valley is a paradise for people like me, for whom fly fishing is much more than a hobby or a sport. It is the foundation on which we build our lives — a guideline for how we live, in harmony with the natural cycle of water and living beings.

My fascination for the wild beauty of the Soča Valley began more than twenty years ago. At the age of twelve I came to Slovenia for the first time with my mother, and immediately fell in love with the untouched nature of Triglav National Park and the crystal-clear, cold waters of the Soča.

I started taking photos and short videos to share what I saw with family and friends — but amateur footage could not capture the landscapes or the change of the seasons. Meeting professional filmmakers, I learned to shoot properly, and the idea grew: a documentary about fly fishing, the marble trout, Triglav National Park, and the quiet work required to keep it all alive.

It soon became clear I could not make this film from Austria. I had to be on the ground, all year round, through every season. So I moved, settling on the border of the National Park, and invested my savings — and much more, thanks to friends who believed in the project — into equipment and time.

Thanks to EU funding, we could produce a feature-length documentary (59 minutes) at the quality it deserves. My hope is that it inspires fly fishers and nature lovers all over the world, and makes them even more aware of the need to protect the increasingly rare wild landscapes and species that remain.