The esteemed novelist Alexander Tomov wrote the script. It recreates events that occurred during the last seven days before 9 September 1944, a date associated with the imposition of communism in Bulgaria. Authentic historical events intertwine with passionate romantic moments. American reporter George Smith is the narrator of the film, telling what happened to him after his arrival in Sofia for an interview with Burov. Strange situations with unexpected endings turn his life upside down. In his later years, George returns to Bulgaria and rediscovers emotions from the past.
“Making my first period film was a big challenge to me, but at the same time everything I had to do was already in the script”, director Kostov told FNE. “In order to understand Burov, a rich, ambitious and complex man, one film would not be enough. At first, our idea was to provoke the audience's curiosity”, Kostov added.
Assen Blatechky plays Burov, the first historical character in his career. In order to be closer to the real person he gained 15 kg. British actor Ben Cross, who died in August 2020, portrayed the elderly George Smith, in one of his last film performances. Dilyana Popova, Nathan Cooper, Neda Spasova, and Plamen Manasiev are also part of the cast.
Shooting took place in May and June 2019, mostly in the pavilions belonging to the Audio Video Orfey studio. Boriana Mintcheva worked on the creation of the sets. Archive footage was also added. Shrapnel traces over the surface of symbolic buildings, including Saint Aleksandar Nevski Cathedral and the Sofia’s Central Market Hall, bombed during World War II, were added during the postproduction. DoP Emil Topuzov shot the exteriors mostly in the streets and in the Osoitsa village.
The film was produced by Korund-X with the support of the Bulgarian National Film Center.
The premiere of the film was on 6 March 2020. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown the national distributor Lenta had to delay the release of the film.
Production Information:
Producer:
Korund-X
Hristo Hristov
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Credits:
Director: Georgi Kostov
Scriptwriter: Alexander Tomov
DoP: Emil Topuzov
Production Designer: Boriana Mintcheva
Costumes: Diana Tsvetkova
Composer: Petko Manchev
Cast: Assen Blatechky, Dilyana Popova, Nathan Cooper, Ben Cross, Neda Spasova, Plamen Manasiev
