Kalev wrote the script based on his personal memories of his grandfather, who passed his whole life in a small village not far from the border with Turkey. The main highlights of the story cover the periods when he was 8, 18 and 82 years old.
“I didn't want to make a biographical or an anthropological film,” Kalev said. “I wanted the film to correspond to my idea of this man, although it probably hardly really suits him. The main thing was to defend the character and to find the right emotion and atmosphere. Therefore, it is not based on a classically constructed plot, but it follows my personal emotions,” Kalev added.
The main actors are Ivan Nalbantov and Nencho Kostov, alongside several non-professionals in acting roles, including DoP Hristo Dimitrov-Hindo, Lachezar Dimitrov and Kolio Dobrev.
The young cinematographer Ivan Chertov shot the film in a small village in the southern part of the Black Sea coast, not far from the town of Elhovo. The house in the film is the real house where Kalev’s mother and his grandfather used to live. According to the director, he wanted to assure himself the longest possible time for shooting, therefore he worked with a crew of only ten people. Kalev himself did the entire edit.
The film was coproduced by France’s Koro Films and Bulgaria’s Waterfront Film, with the support of Ile de France, Cinecap 3, the Bulgarian National Film Center and Eurimages. The first screenings of the film took place online during the 2020 Cannes Market. Later on, the film made a tour of over 25 international film festivals.
The Bulgarian premiere took place on 11 March 2021 with the opening of the 25th anniversary edition of the Sofia IFF, while the theatrical release in France started on 30 June 2021.
The sales are managed my Memento Film International, which also picked up the worldwide sales of Kalev’s debut feature Eastern Plays, coproduced by Bulgaria’s Waterfront Film, Sweden’s Film i Väst and Norway’s The Chimney Pot, in 2009.
Production Information:
Producer:
Koro Films (France)
Coproducer:
Waterfront Film (Bulgaria)
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Credits:
Director: Kamen Kalev
Scriptwriter: Kamen Kalev
DoP: Ivan Chertov
Music: Petar Dundakov
Cast: Lachezar Dimitrov, Kolyo Dobrev, Ivan Nalbantov, Hristo Dimitrov – Hindo, Milko Lazarov
