Discoveries from Bulgaria World Cinema

What will happen if you give the world in the hands of children to decide about...

An animated film painted on emergency thermal safety blankets, featuring the state of emergency declarations of Trump, Macron, Putin, Merkel and many others. The harshness of the contrast between living images and dead words is everything. As in other films Ushev knows how to hit the heart and show us the pain points of contemporaneity with an extremely direct and at the same time poetic way.

A tall man and a short man argue about whether the object in front of them is a square or a circle. During the struggle, they push the object. It turns out to be a cylinder.

The famous violinist Dorothy Lambert arrives in Bulgaria. She is accompanied by her manager Ted Smiles. The Bulgarian Intelligence Service receives an encrypted message that an agent codenamed Dolly will attempt to contact the chief of residence of a foreign intelligence agency in Bulgaria.

Friday night. On the weekend, five women will be able to think about themselves.

The full-length documentary presents the stages in the historical development of the city of Sofia from the earliest artefacts of 6000 BC till now, telling of the archaeological discoveries, achievements in architecture and town planning, in science and the arts, interlacing episodes from the documentary series 5 Minutes Sofia. KAMEN VODENICHAROV (b. 1966), actor/director/producer, studied Puppetry at NATFA, Sofia, in the classes of Prof. Nikolina Georgieva and specialised in Film and TV Directing in the classes of Acad. Lyudmil Staykov. He is one of the founders of the widely popular Cuckoo student TV show. MISHO LANZHEV (b. 1959), director/animator, after completing his studies at NATFA, Sofia, worked for popular TV shows and films. He is one of the directors of the documentary series 5 Minutes Sofia. Festivals & Awards: IFF Sofia 2019; Best Documentary, White Nights FF, St. Petersburg, Russia

Adela Peeva explores the national origin of a song common amongst a set of countries, and finds that the answer is not as simple as one might think.

A tragic love story set in the Rhodope mountains.

A movie drama telling the story of the crew of a Bulgarian cruiser in the historic year of 1918. The crew of the cruiser, sent to Sevastopol for a planned intervention against Russia, learned the true purpose of the campaign and the fact that the war was over. The sailors refused to obey the commander. The communist Boyan Milev took command. According to the wishes of all the sailors, the cruiser should sail back to Bulgaria the next morning. However, among the sailors there is a traitor who helped the arrested captain to get free and damaged the ship's equipment, so the "Nadezhda" will not be able to sail the next day. The rebels are taken to Bulgaria, where they will be brought to justice.

On February 12 1990 the freshly established Union of Democratic Forces (SDS/СДС) launches Bulgaria's newest daily publication - "Democracy". Atanas Kiryakov documents the fledgling independent press office as dream turns into reality, the first issue is printed and crowds flock to buy it.

The film shows Bulgaria after the First World War - different destinies, different turns on both sides of the political barricade. A life full of contradictions and passion.

The stories of four women, each at a different stage of life and facing different challenges, yet all haunted by the oppressive sense that the meaninglessness around them is becoming ever more overwhelming. In conflict with age, femininity, love, and pain, they long for change – radical, painful, yet life-giving. Don't worry too much about them. They are women, and they can bear the consequences of every mistake they make – even those caused by others.

They follows two university professors over the course of a day. Lyudmil begins a new position at the university where Miho, the older chairman of the department, is busy juggling the social pressures of work and family. In the end, the two are seen living together as a couple, tender but cautious to keep their relationship secret.

Simbad, the Sultan's son, is only interested in TV. As a punishment, his father sent him on a sea voyage. A storm plunges the ship to the Sandwich Islands. Simbad eats the Sandwich Islands. Then he married a princess. Simbad fights with sea monsters. He returns to Baghdad with great wealth and buys himself a super-television.

11 short stories about the marvelous misadventures of The Three Fools created and directed by the Bulgarian cartoonist Donyo Donev. The first episode was released in 1970 and the last one in 1990.

A chance encounter at a family wedding will force Yana, a closeted young woman, to face her biggest issue - herself.

Bai Kosta, a wealthy merchant from the end of the last century, can't get over his frivolous wife and vain daughter who have their eyes set on Europe and civilization. And in the language of both and of Mr. Magavridi, the stranger, it would mean clothes, ointments, pomades and fine manners. Curtsies, hand-kissing, refined manners. And just now they felt the breeze of Paris. Sooner or later, which is true, they will come to this civilization, they will live quite Frenchly. Mr. Magavridi will arrange the work...

A shy snowman is smitten by a little girl and refuses to leave her when spring comes.

In the midst of his crumbling reality, Yavor, the youngest inhabitant of a small Bulgarian village, dreams of another world - a world of possibilities.

An ambulance is called to a deserted quarry to take the corpse of a girl. The youngest medic confronts his two older colleagues for their inhuman behavior but one unexpected discovery is about to put his ethics to a test.

Let us imagine isolation, fear, almost generic fear, and ancient, pervasive, self-generated. This fear becomes a system. The little man, forced, struggled to maintain his minimal right, the right to survive. But today, this crushed, squeezed, almost destroyed little man stands on the border, the one that separates— or unites—the old system and the new, the world of competition, where survival is precisely through profitability, profit. Then the little man becomes the hero, the model, the hero of this almost demonological thriller.

Nina is 12. Her mother, Nazca, who was laid off from the factory, finds work at a remote mountain dairy. Nina cannot continue her studies, but this is the only way to avoid repeating her mother's fate.

There is a wind blowing. In a hut near the sea lives a woman. The scenes in the animation keep changing; her body becomes a landscape, her breasts become the arses of 2 horses, etc. The scenes are filled with longing and an idea of passion, like in a dream.

The beginning of the 20th century. A village in the mountain. The young barrel maker Liyu is to be examined by the local craftsmen. They approve the barrel he has made, blindfold. They give him "the craftsman's belt". At the beginning, nobody considers him a master.

In a world of technology, microwaves, and telephone operators, a woman tries to contact an ambulance because she is going into labor.

Confession of the actress Stoyanka Mutafova in a conversation about life and art, through footage from the Golden Fund of BNT - excerpts from television and theater performances, films, entertainment programs.

Evtim Manasiev is an outstanding engineer. At the office, he has made a name for himself as a "whole-hogger boss". At home, his motto is: "Love me, love my dog". His children rebel against his acting at variance with his own principles. Tired and exasperated, Manasiev realizes that he has been wrong in some of his actions. On a holiday, he runs into Mihaylova, a subordinate of his whom he has recently fired undeservedly. The meeting urges him to reconsider and to review painfully all his previous life and principles. —Georgi Djulgerov

In a family left by their father, who forms an extravagant collection of moths as a \proof’ of the countless female hearts he has conquered, the erratic Mother tries to prevent her family from falling apart. Theo (13) is following in his father’s footsteps by becoming an erotic novelist. His sister Andy (18) refuses to talk to anyone, communicating online only with her brother. On one of her solitary walks, she meets and falls in love with Dinko, a young bum, who sees in her an opportunity for a profitable deal. He trades her to a Gypsy baron only to realise he is in love with her. Meanwhile, the mother takes a desperate step to save her daughter.

In the near future people have lost their ability to cry. A patient visits the "Cry Clinic" where he undergoes an experimental treatment.

A virtuous violin player withdraws from the big stage with the only aim to play the "Caprices" perfectly not for the audience, but for himself. A weapon buried in the ground is the reason for him to meet two boys from a mountain village which changes their lives forever.

A movie dedicated to the legendary Dimitar Voev (1965-1992). One of the symbols of Bulgaria's rebellious generation. He was a poet, founder and singer in the bands: "New Generation", "Kale" and "Votsek and Chugra".

A young actress in a country town is almost smashed under the burden of the wear and tear of life. She has problems with her parents, she is not happy with her love affairs, she faces hypocrisy and cynicism in the society all the way. She copes with all the hardships with dignity, she is devoted to her work, she manages to preserve her mentality. But the most difficult thing is in store: she has to experience the true faith in what she is doing - the faith of the fire-dancers, who walk barefooted on glowing embers.

Mityo Ganev is a leader of the armed bandits. The authorities accuse the Communists of his robberies. The detachment commander, Chalaka, and Mityo Ganev have a meeting but fail to reach an agreement. The police burn out Mityo's house and send his mother into internal exile. Chalaka cuts him off from his logistical support base. Mityo agrees to join the partisan detachment. Mityo and Velyo hold up the paymaster of the army garrison. When they take the money, Mityo wants to give it to the family of the exiles. Enraged, Velyo hands the detachment over to the Colonel. Mityo kills the traitor. The police and he army launch a major operation against the partisans. In a fierce battle, Chalaka leads the detachment out of encirclement while Mityo covers their retreat. A bullet hits him.

Three teenagers are trying to raise money for the treatment of a child. While hunting for buried treasure, a magic Smartphone propels them into the past, amidst fearful forest people. They meet with adventures and life-threatening dangers. While returning to the present, they happen to take two of the natives and their adventures continue together.

We follow the life of a man at eight, eighteen and eighty-two years old: in his village, outside the village, in the heat of the sun and the icy snow. The course of his monotonous life seems to be written in advance and meaningless. And yet an invisible force exists in him and in a mysterious way pushes him forward, towards death.

Phillip is married to Rositza but has a kid from Marta. Rositza adopts the kid, but she could not keep neither it nor her husband. Phillip takes the kid and moves to the attic where Marta lives. Rositza comes to pick up the kid, since she wants to take care of it. In the quarrel for the kid, get involved the proprietor of the attic Venera and her nephew Svetlozar. Soon everyone starts to unravel his or her own live experiences. The kid does not make a noise in the other room just to show that everyone has forgotten about him. No one from the characters has seen his or her faults. In order for them to avoid their vulnerability, they have a behavior style, which is not part of their human nature. They have lost their essence.

Two German-Jewish children flee Nazi Germany in the early 1940s and try to escape to Palestine via Bulgaria. When their uncle dies during the journey, they are taken in by a troupe of travelling performers.

A short story about love between two light bulbs who spark bright together until one of them fades out.

In this film the viewer is taken on a boat trip along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast with stops in the ports of Sozopol, Nessebar and Pomorie, revealing the natural landmarks and beautiful landscapes of the seaside towns.

2003 Bulgarian film

On the theater stage, a monkey masterfully juggles and walks on a rope. The audience is bored. The monkey tosses the knives that get stuck in its hands, balances on a ball with spikes that pierce its legs, swallowing the saber. The audience is ecstatic. . . In the dressing room, the monkey takes off his costume, and a soulful human face appears under it.

The elderly Stoyan has advanced dementia and his daughter Iliana decides to organize a trip for him, in which Stoyan can see his sister and other relatives, her son Vesko can create precious memories with his grandfather, and she can spend her last days with what little is left of her father, who will soon know no one.

Little Svetlio has taken the six plastic Indians in his crib and is struggling to sleep. Suddenly, a big Dog appears in the room and explains to Svetlio his mission - he has come to save him. Firstly, because he is a St. Bernard by nature. Svetlio goes on an adventure because of a simple lie.

Robin is pregnant but doesn't want to be a mother. Katerina and Gaia are single but want a child. Kiki suffers from an incurable disease and wants her life to end with dignity. The procedures they hope to get access to – abortion, IVF and euthanasia – are only available and legal in other countries. Therefore, they resort to so-called medical tourism.

A lightning rod is guarding the house roof, but when the lightnings strike, it appears the rod if afraid of them.

With his kingdom in tatters and his subjects baying for his blood, the king hides in his throne room praying for a last-minute reprieve. But with the mob at the door, who can he trust? His spoiled wife expects him to murder anybody who would do him harm, while his chief advisor plots from the shadows. Powerless, naive, and scared, will the king live long enough to learn the true cost of his crown? The Cost of the Crown is a historical drama about betrayal, class, and the inevitable corruption that ultimate power brings.

The musician plays the laterna. He gives Candy Rosster to the boy. The world around the boy is filled with flowers and magic. The boy circles around the Sun. He lets him lick his Candy Rooster. But in the end, the Candy Rooster runs out, only the match remains.

Good Night, Lily! is the deepest confession in the last days of Dora’s life. At the threshold of death, Dora goes through her disappointments, unfulfilled dreams and moments that she didn’t allow herself to live to the fullest.

A young partisan faces the moral questions of the Revolution

This is a film about moral dilemmas which surgeons face. Dr Panov, the head doctor of a provincial hospital, has a keen sense of responsibility and he takes risks in the name of life a lot more often than his colleagues.

Three sailors are involved in a dangerous and funny adventure abroad.

A boy takes care of his grandmother after the loss of his sister.

February 1954: ten mass graves with over 500 bodies are found in the region of Sofia, Bulgaria. Experts say they were killed and the deaths occurred in 1925. In one of the graves a glass eye is found - the glass eye of the poet Geo Milev.

Two boys, a few stolen car parts, a basketball and an awful lot of slaps.

When an alienated mother returns to Bulgaria to abduct her own 12-years-old son, she learns that it is not always easy to avoid making the same mistakes. She is determined not to leave her son again.