He lives in the Reteče village near Škofja Loka. He is a printer by profession. He devotes a lot of his time to the folk’s theatre which enables many people to perform in public, to overcome the stage freight, to respect their mother tongue, to socialize with people of different opinions, to exchange their thoughts, discover various layers of the human being…

Directorial approach: to accept everyone in the theatre process, even those coming your way as every single person comes with their personal reason. The director has no right to reject “the seeker”.  For him, the essence of the direction is to elevate the spirit of all those involved with the final aim: to move from the material to the spiritual, to bring together the secular and the sacred for the common good, and to revive and reinforce the value of voluntary work in modern times. He wants for the directorial process to include all those involved, the performers and the spectators, and to revive with them and live the human values such as honesty, modesty, hard-work, solidarity, mutual respect…

For Borut Gartner the manuscript of the Škofja Loka Passion Play is an endless source of new skills, discoveries and attainable ‘’treasures’’. For him the Passion Play is an opportunity to use the theatre as a medium to talk to Him and to search the Truth.

In the 2009 performances, he increased the number of performers and invited Slovenes living in neighbouring countries to participate. He enriched the background music. The compositions to accompany the performances were created anew. They also created the audio recording ‘tablature’ (a special form of musical notation), which was annexed in the form of a sheet to the original, and the music for the lute (three minuets).

According to him, the Passion Play is all about personal experience. Therefore, he increased the number of Adam’s children, gave the opportunity to brass bands, attracted young intellectuals to participate – the students of the Škofja Loka High School sang in the choir of the People, and encouraged a local craftsman to manufacture six new drums…

He created a new contemporary framework for the performances. He brought the modern man to the forefront of the performance; a modern man who keeps falling, yet he continues to look up to find the answers to the ordeals of life. His idea was that during the Passion days the Škofja Loka Castle as well as numerous churches where the performers come from would be lit with the red light signifying both suffering and love.

Borut Gartner is going to direct the 2021 anniversary Škofja Loka Passion Play as well. He keeps reiterating that he feels honoured to be able to touch the Passion Play. He is proud to be able to collaborate with a ‘multitude of angles’ comprised of dedicated heads of drama groups, horsemen, various highly renowned artists, fire fighters, scouts, doctors…and numerous honest people from Škofja Loka and the surroundings who help to support and create the Škofja Loka Passion Play in one way or another. He is convinced that the community is more important than an individual. He also very much fond of the Passion Play pilgrimages, in the framework of which he endeavours to establish the inter-religious dialogue.