New Bulgarian cinema: international acclaim

published on 12/14/09 2:14 PM

\r\nA scene from the Zift movie.

Photo: Архив

In 2009 Bulgarian movies were widely acknowledged internationally. The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner has won 23 distinctions so far. Twenty-three countries have bought it for screening including Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia. The movie, Bulgaria’s post-totalitarian major film production, was shot based on the autobiographical novel by Bulgarian emigrant writer Ilija Trojanow. The feature is a co-production of Bulgaria, Germany, Slovenia and Hungary with support from Eurimages, the Media European Program, national and regional funds. The drama is also Bulgaria’s entry for the Best Academy Award for Foreign Language Film. Director Stefan Komandarev says more about the way foreign audiences respond to the film.

The great trio: (from right to left) co-producer Stefan Kitanov, director Stefan Komandarev and Stefan Valdobrev - actor in "The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner."

“Usually response is warm after screenings. There are many smiling people, with tears in their eyes. What is rewarding is that from the 23 prizes received outside Bulgaria, 6 are audience awards. In Portugal people from the audience came to us saying they wanted to watch the movie again. In Bulgaria there are viewers who have seen it 5 to 6 times. So far the movie has been screened in a few European countries, and in Asia where it is distributed in Taiwan, South Korea and Israel. Now its commercial distribution in South America is about to start. In January and February we are going to take part in the festivals in Palm Springs and Santa Barbara.”

Another Bulgarian feature, Zift, has been touring international festivals as well. It has been shot on the novel of the same name by Vladislav Todorov. Its genre is neo-noir. The film is impressive with its intellectual irony, sophisticated black-and-white visuals and with skillful acting. It is not for nothing that the prestigious crystal statuette from the festival in Seoul went to the lead actor in the movie, Zahary Baharov (the Moth). The prize money equivalent is USD 40,000. For Baharov, an actor with a deep intuition and a diverse talent, this has been the first distinction abroad. More from him:

Zahary Baharov (the Moth)

“It did attract quite a lot of interest. The difference compared to Bulgaria, was that audiences in Seoul took it more seriously. They tend to capture the drama, but miss the fine sense of humor and its subtle irony. This prize is important in being the first distinction I have got internationally. It means that I am able to convey messages not only in Bulgarian. Well, apart from anything else, acknowledgement is responsibility.”

A scene from the Eastern Plays movie.

And while the World is Big and Zift started their foreign journeys in 2008, the 2009 hit among the Bulgarian feature films is Eastern Plays, a sincere, truthful and moving drama. It captures the present-day social problems, aggression, drug addiction mixed with both hope and pain. Hristo Hristov cast in the lead was an amateur actor who acted fragments of his own life – a talented guy addicted to drugs. However, unlike the optimistic ending of the movie, Hristo died after the film was shot. The premiere of the film was held at the Cannes Festival. Since then the movie has snatched a dozen prizes. It lived through a veritable triumph in Tokyo where three distinctions went to it: the Grand Prix, the Best Director to Kamen Kalev and the Best Actor to Hristo Hristov (posthumously). Three awards came at the festival in Bratislava too. What has been the response of audiences? They are moved, says director Kamen Kalev.

“This is easily noticed and felt, and to see someone from the audience moved by the story is the best of rewards indeed. This means he or she has found a particle of the truth about their lives in the movie. Everybody is very impressed with the way Hristo acts. I guess, the film’s key asset is this thin line running between fact and fiction. This makes the film universal”, concludes film director Kamen Kalev.

English version Daniela Konstantinova

По публикацията работи: Veneta Pavlova

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New Bulgarian cinema: international acclaim

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