A lonely gas station worker who steals chocolate bars meets a mystery girl who fights crime at night. Naturally, he steals her bike.

That’s the setup for “Girl in the Night,” a deadpan Slovenian feature heading to Fantastic Fest’s main competition on September 20th. Writer-director Luka Marčetić describes it as a story about boredom and the search for friendship in very strange circumstances.

The film follows Rok (Urban Kuntarič), a kleptomaniac killing time on night shifts by pocketing candy. When a bruised girl (Lara Wolf) shows up claiming to have superpowers, he hatches a plan to see her again, stealing her bicycle to force another meeting.

Marčetić, known for Slovenian series “Day of Love” and comedies “At Hostar,” leans into quiet, solitary characters often overlooked in daily life. “I always wanted to put them in roles of vulnerable heroes and antiheroes,” he notes.

Produced by Jerca Jerič and Andraž Jerič of Temporama, the film mixes “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” with “Napoleon Dynamite” energy, plus a splash of “Juno.” It’s a love letter to misfits that finds unexpected connection in the mundane.

Why it matters: Fantastic Fest continues championing genre films from unexpected corners of the world, giving voice to filmmakers exploring loneliness and human connection without Hollywood gloss.