Yana Marinova and Luiza Grigorova-Makariev in Wildlings by Martin Makariev
SOFIA: Critical for culture and film worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was equally difficult for the film industry in Bulgaria.
The first severe restrictions of social and cultural life came after the vote of the Bulgarian Parliament in favour of a state of emergency from 13 March 2020, imposing a lockdown for a month. All culture and entertainment venues including cinemas were obliged to close.
As a result, only days after the official announcement of its 2020 lineup, the Sofia FF had to postpone its 24th edition, which was about to kick off on 12 March 2020 and to be followed by the 17th Sofia Meetings.
TRIESTE: Ivailo Hristov’s feature
Fear (Pro Film) will be screened in the main competition of the 32nd Trieste Film Festival, which runs 21 – 30 January 2021 and focuses on films from the CEE, Baltic and Balkan region.
The story follows the growing revolt and the severe opposition of a jobless teacher towards her fellow villagers, who vehemently deny her relationship with an accidentally arrived black refugee.
According to Hristov, who wrote the script, the idea came to him some years ago while he was spending his summer in a Black Sea village close to the border with Turkey. “One afternoon, I suddenly came across a van with open doors and saw men, women and children packed inside at a temperature of 40 degrees C. Their clothes were stuck to their bodies and their faces were drenched in sweat. I could never forget their eyes,” Hristov told FNE. “But as the film is about a woman making her long way to love in nearly impossible circumstances, so I prefer to define its ge