13-07-2008

BUFO wraps The Hills Run Red in Bulgaria

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    The $4.5 million (€2.8 million) Bulgarian Unified Film Organization (BUFO) production of The Hills Run Red wrapped filming in Sofia and surrounding areas in early July.

    The film, directed Dave Parker (The Dead Hate the Living) and written by David J. Schow (The Crow) and John Dombrow, stars Australian actress Sophie Monk and Tad Hilgenbrinck. A Warner Premiere production from Dark Castle Home Entertainment, it will be distributed on DVD by Warner Home Video in 2009. The horror genre film is the latest of 45 productions from BUFO.

    €1 million of the budget was spent in Bulgaria, with another €32,000 local spend expected. BUFO's director Phil Roth said that due to the rich experience of film production in Eastern Europe, 94% or the crew were Bulgarians. At least 10 local stuntmen per day were used along with Bulgarian actors, representing 65% of the cast.

    BUFO acts as a production services company for U.S. companies, including a contracted 12 productions for Universal Pictures, with the company claiming cost savings of 60-70%. It currently has two films in pre-production: Wrong Turn 3 for Twenty Century Fox and Dooms Day for Universal. BUFO management said local crew participation could rise to 99%.