2008-04-09/30 Седмица на бг кино в Люкс

Тони · 02/04/2008 09:49:21

Къде?

Cinémathèque
17, place du Théâtre
L-2613 Luxembourg
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&g … iwloc=cent

Какво?

Go Bulgaria
Focus on the Bulgarian New Wave Cinema

Кой?

In collaboration with the Bulgarian Ambassy Brussels and the Bulgarian National Film Center

Защо?

With more and more funds at their disposal, filmmakers forming the «New Wave» of Bulgarian cinema, the «Generation 89» that finally broke with the traditions of good communist cinema that others were still trying to live up to, were beginning to make films about contemporary Bulgarian reality, with the help of realism or the surreal black humor typical of Balkan cinema.

In 2006, the story of the rebellious « Lady Zee » by Georgi Djulgerov made the selection for the European Film Awards. Also, the use of symbolism and hyperbolae in the work of Ilian Simeonov (Warden of the Dead) is typical for the Balkan cinema. Pictures of this modern, «new wavish» vitality confirm very clearly that contemporary Bulgarian cinema has broken with the tradition of poetic struggle with ideology, and is more interested in wittily commenting on contemporary issues. Over the last years, extremely interesting and original new films have been made showing a healthy development of the Bulgarian film industry. The pessimistic character of the previous period is modeled into a more objective and critical view on social, ethnic and ethical issues. The stories as usual are varied without the stereotyped vision of the world common for many mainstream films.

The art of the new generation of Bulgarian filmmakers, although very specific, expresses a unique fusion of elements of the Italian Neorealism, the Iranian Cinema, the Russian avant-garde with « the naturally vital, slightly barbaric, but visually very powerful» elements of Bulgarian cinema. Yet despite the European/World cinema influences, their style reveals the unmistakable marks of their personality.

«After a decade of painstaking reorientation to the rules of a market economy, Bulgaria’s film industry gradually starts striking the right trail of its development. With the kind invitation and collaboration of the Cinémathèque Luxembourg, we are privileged to show several works, which, I believe, would outline the profile of the quest of our filmmakers. These are pictures that have been awarded at prestigious international festivals held in Montreal, Sarajevo, Moscow, Karlovy Vary, Kotbus, Rome, Pusan. We also screen The Unknown Soldier’s Patent Leather Shoes by one of the most eminent Bulgarian authors, Rangel Vulchanov. The work brings us back to the tradition, revealing the cultural roots of the modern Bulgarian cinema. » (Prof. Alexander Grozev, CEO of the Bulgarian National Film Center)

Кога?

Сряда, 09.04.2008 г., 20.30

Opening Night

In the presence of the Director of the Bulgarian National Film Center and the Ambassador of the Bulgarian Republic

"Warden of the Dead"

Kafka meets Carrie in writer-director Ilian Simeonov’s spooky, metaphorical Balkan drama, Bulgaria’s official submission to the 2006 Academy Awards for consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category. The film’s protagonist is the Boy, a 13-year-old orphan who has spent his life living and working in a cemetery. Death is his métier and daily occupation; nightly, bodies are piling up on the premises from an unnamed military conflict raging off screen. The Boy has two close friends who depend on him, and he is determined to see to their happiness. One is the Artist, who does make-up for the corpses at the cemetery but dreams of being a great painter. The other is the Old Man, a former political prisoner whose sole remaining reason for living has been to see the death of the General who sent him to the gulag and stole his wife. The film begins with the General’s funeral. When, shortly after, the Boy has a prophecy that someone will die in ten days, all assume it will be the Old Man. Enter a young woman named Maria. Is she the muse that will inspire the Artist, as the Boy intends, or is her role in this drama something else entirely…?

Петък, 11.04.2008 г., 20.30

"Lady Zee"

Though it sometimes seems Euro screens are saturated with tales of poor, exploited girls from Eastern Europe, Georgi Djulgerov's Lady Zee has something extra going for it. Title character, an orphan who has a talent for sharp-shooting and is determined not to become a prostitute, is viewed not as a victim but a wild-at-heart individual capable of making amazing choices. Story is told by the gypsy boy Lecho, the obsessive witness of everything that transpires. He's the lovelorn admirer of Zlatina, who grew up with him in a center for abandoned kids. At 12, she avoids being gang-raped by offering herself to the orphanage director. From then on, she refuses to wear dresses or show emotion believing this de-feminization will allow her to escape prostitution…

«Djulgerov, a veteran iconoclast of Bulgarian cinema, has a light, often playful touch with his largely non-pro cast. Young Garbov brings a sharp, sassy attitude to the main role, making the tragic edges easier to watch. As Lecho, Paskalev looks much like Pasolini favorite Ninetto Davoli and has a similar angelic function in this story, embodying Lady Zee's wistful but cheerful would-be lover. Djulgerov and co-scripter Marin Damianov skilfully avoid sentimentality in depicting the tough, precocious lives of these unwanted kids marked by emotional scars. The film's restraint pays off handsomely in the end, when moments of tenderness peek through their armor. » (Variety)

Понеделник, 14.04.2008 г., 20.30

"The Rebellion of L."

On the night of the graduation prom the credit to the English Language School, Loris tries to escape to the West, but he is betrayed and captured. Charged with political motivation, Loris is sentenced. The year is 1986. The prison. “If you don't know we will teach you, if you can't - we will show you how, if you don't want to - we will force you.” This slogan written in red letters on the wall is put into practice. Torture, cynicism and physical violence turn the talented young man into an impassive and cold-blooded observer. The fall of the Berlin wall. Loris is granted an amnesty. Already free, he is alienated and indifferent to the world...

Each new Bulgarian film seems to have the same ambition: to find the key to the changes of the past 17 years, during which Communism collapsed and society stratified, while old values still swirl around belly-up. Kiran Kolarov's hero is an excellent student from a good family who attempts to escape to the West, lands in prison and from there, after being granted amnesty, descends into the underworld. The director has modeled an impressive movie presence out of the aura of his cast, in a compelling story about compassionate delinquents and a prostitute with a heart of gold.

Сряда, 16.04.2008 г., 18.30

"The Goat Horn"

At the time of Ottoman rule in Bulgaria, a small family of Chiristian shepherds is brutally attacked by the local overlord, Osman Bey, and two of his men. The men rape the shepherd's beautiful young wife and kill her by piercing her throat with a curly goat horn, while he and their little girl, Maria, look on in horror. Traumatized by the sight, Maria loses her ability to speak, and grows up wild and a little crazy…

« The first remake of a Bulgarian film, The Goat Horn revisits a Nikolai Haitov story on which the most popular and critically acclaimed Bulgarian film of all time (shot by Metodi Andonov in 1972) was based. Concentrating on the human side of the story while downplaying its nationalist elements, helmer Nikolai Volev delivers a thoroughly enjoyable - if not emotionally exhilarating - version of the tale. Sophisticated erotica undoubtedly helped pic do brisk business onshore, and arthouse pickups could follow abroad. Scripters have made one significant change to the tale: The awkward shephered who becomes Maria's first lover is no longer a Christian, but a Muslim. This tolerant twist gives the father's decadelong revenge added irony, while deflecting the simplistic good Christian/bad Turk model. » (Variety)

Сряда, 30.04.2008 г., 18.30

"The Unknown Soldier’s Patent Leather Shoes"

Bulgarian Classic Masterpiece

A middle-aged Bulgarian is watching the change of the guard in front of the Buckingham Palace. For no apparent reason, while looking, in his mind he gets back to his childhood in the little village, he grew up in. Different rites, different traditions and still, he finds something in common. He recalls the people he knew, he feared or admired. He ponders over that life of no brilliance, where people plough, harvest, marry and die, celebrate or grieve…

A lyrical poem in an autobiographical vein on the fading peasant culture and the irretrievable past. The director recreates his childhood memories and fantasies of events such as the Balkan Wars, WWI and WWII, and family events including a wedding and death. Beautifully shot, and using non-actors for most of its cast the film remains one of the masterpieces of Bulgarian cinema. « This is a part-autobiographical reverie of remembered childhood. Filming the Changing of the Guard in London, writer/director Vulchanov accidentally plays a recording of an old harvest song which transports him back to his boyhood country village at the beginning of WWII. It's a lively, affectionate, humourous and deliberately anachronistic (or time non-dependent) re-enactment of bucolic poverty, filtered through the vivid imagination of the appealing ten-year-old Mone, with nice camerawork and a sprightly traditional score. » (Time Out Film Guide)

Тони · 09/04/2008 15:09:28

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#1 02/04/2008 09:49:21

2008-04-09/30 Седмица на бг кино в Люкс

#2 09/04/2008 15:09:28

Отговор: 2008-04-09/30 Седмица на бг кино в Люкс

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