The story follows Lilian, a parole officer whose life is governed by clinical precision. Body, emotions, and desires are held under strict control. When she is summoned back to her hometown to settle the death of an absent father, what should be a brief administrative detour unravels into unresolved debts, institutional inertia, and a decaying body caught in bureaucratic limbo.
The main cast includes non-professional and professional Bulgarian and UK-based actors: Snejanka Mihaylova, Nikola Mutafov, Mihail Milchev, and Alexis Atmadjov.
“Being part of the Forum section of the Berlinale is particularly meaningful to me, as it is a place where cinema takes risks. Moreover, the premiere holds an additional significance, as Lust began its journey in Berlin during my artist residencies at The DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Programme and, earlier, at the Nipkow Programme. For me, Lust is a mystical film about absent fathers and about daughters who carry that weight. Conceived as a coming-of-mid-age psychodrama, it moves between mystery, fantasy, and ghost story not to resolve absence, but to trace how it unsettles control and, at times, creates an opening,” Ralitza Petrova told FNE.
Bulgarian companies Aporia Filmworks (Ralitza Petrova) and Screening Emotions (Nikolay Todorov, Poli Angelova) produced the film in coproduction with Snowglobe (Eva Jakobsen, Denmark) and Silver Films (Anna Byvald, Sweden). The Bulgarian National Film Center, Eurimages – Council of Europe, the Danish Film Institute, Film i Väst, and Doli Media Studio supported the project.
The film was developed during the Nipkow Programme, and The Daad Artists-In-Berlin Programme, and it was showcased at Sofia Meetings and Cinelink Industry Days, where it received the ArteKino International Award. Its total budget was 731,800 EUR.
Lust was shot in Sofia over 32 shooting days in the autumn of 2023.
Ralitza Petrova (b. 1976) studied film and video art at the University of the Arts London and later fiction directing at UK’s National Film and Television School (NFTS). Her short films have received international recognition, and they screened at major festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, and Toronto. Petrova gained worldwide prominence with her debut feature Godless (2016), which won the Golden Leopard for Best Film at the Locarno Film Festival, followed by over 27 international awards and a nomination for the European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI by the European Film Academy. Godless is a Bulgarian/Danish coproduction, produced by Rossitsa Valkanova for Klas Film and coproduced by Snow Globe, Alcatraz Films and Film Factory production.
Production Information:
Producers:
Screening Emotions (Bulgaria)
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Aporia Filmworks (Bulgaria)
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Coproducers:
Snowglobe(Denmark)
Silver Film (Sweden)
Film I Väst (Sweden)
Credits:
Director: Ralitsa Petrova
DoP: Julian Atanassov
Editor: Per Kirkegaard
Co-editor: Ralitza Petrova
Sound designer: Carlos E. Garcia
Production designer: Vanina Geleva
Costume designer: Elena Stoyanova
Make-up artist: Magdalena Hristova
Casting director: Nina Boyanova
Cast: Snejanka Mihaylova, Nikola Mutafov, Mihail Milchev, Alexis Atmadjov
