Martichka Bozhilova

Bulgaria

Martichka Bozhilova

producer, festival representative

Ramadan - Guide to Fame

Have you ever heard Bulgarian folk music? In this documentary which main characters have dedicated their lives to bring this music through centuries you certainly will. This film will present the spiritual leader of this music style – the charming and extremely gifted clarinetist Ramadan Lolov. By following his ghost from early 20 th century fairs to the modern cities streets we will explore the strength of personal charisma and illusions.

Revelation Point

Up until recently, in most of these countries the alienation in its various forms (feeling of powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, social isolation, self-estrangement), together with the psychosomatic problems deriving from it, was considered something "foreign", something that exists somewhere in the Western world, but does not belong to you. In the course of less than two decades, it turned out that - together with junk food, genetically modified products etc. - all of these benefits of the post-modern capitalist society have been successfully imported to our daily life as well. The characters of the film come from different big and small towns in Bulgaria, Russia and Armenia - office workers, students, business owners, bankers, housewives… The stress of living in constantly changing and uncertain conditions has brought them a variety of mental, psychological and physical problems - and some of them have been pretty close to self-destruction. The common element is that all of them have decided to make a change, and all of them have joined a therapy group that sets laughter and positive thinking as a way to both mental and physical healing.

Tin Can Race

During the Cold War, the average family in the Eastern-bloc sooner or later had its long-awaited, much loved, polished and groomed socialist clumsy and a pain-to-drive car. And this was the only available option. On the other hand, the export of these cars was a national priority of the communist countries, so that many families in the West “enjoyed” a pure utilitarian and very affordable model of a Lada, Moskvich, Skoda or Yugo. The socialist cars were meant to serve their owners and not to bring pleasure. Now it’s time to revive these old monsters and have all the joy they can provide.
After working on this topic for years and gathering archives related to socialist cars, we offer the spectacular Tin Can Race – a Socialist Cars Media Event, a rich array of high-quality storytelling, entertainment and cross-media adventures. For one purpose only - to speed up and get to know Europe better, back then and nowadays.

One Dying Star

Three turbulent decades of the last century are reflected through the story of science fiction films made in Socialist Yugoslavia.
Divided by decades and unraveled chronologically, One Dying Star opens in the 60s with Cold War at its peak. Yugoslavia is leading the Non-Aligned Movement and its economy starts getting the first whiffs of capitalist mentality. Yugoslav Communism was different and so was Yugoslav Sci-fi. Mostly aimed at kids or very niche art house audiences, Yugoslav Sci-fi films were based around a unique set of values, ranging from the perpetuation of leftist ideological practices to further affirmation of the Non-Alignment ideology.
Our film intends to set the story of Yugoslav Sci-fi cinema against the backdrop of social and political dynamics, including the breakup of the country. Advances in science, modernist architecture, political concepts of self-management which included utopian elements and the overall change of lifestyle encapsulated in consumerism shaped a very special imaginaria of Yugoslav society and local Sci-fi.
Even though Yugoslav Sci-fi is terra incognita when it comes to film history and especially foreign audience, the genre actually attracted such famous auteur like Golden Berlin Bear-winner Želimir Žilnik, Oscar-winner Dušan Vukotić and Oscar-nominee Veljko Bulajić.
The film is made mostly out of archive materials, both from the movies they talk about and actual footage of the times. Testimonies of filmmakers, film critics and theorist on the subject such as Slavoj Žižek, Branko Dimtirijević and Nenad Polimac paint the audio background and bring the story about intersected dreams of the society as channeled through Sci-fi genre.
With tens of features to cover and major directors involved in the genre, with the vibrant social and political context, this is a promising subject that will take us to the next frontier of Yugoslav film and culture study, where no man has gone before.

Unhero or a Falling Star

Yavor (38) is the most controversial star of the Bulgarian theater, film and television business. Once an audience favorite, Yavor is now on the verge of going to jail. The media are tearing him apart. Something must be done or he is lost. He undertakes a cinematic experiment. The result will be our docu-series. Yavor also starts his own stand-up comedy show to save him from the professional/ life crisis. With the help of our team, he stages and explores his greatest fears – going to prison, being abandoned by those closest to him, repeating the great childhood trauma of losing his father. The most important people for him participate in this panopticon – Yavor's girlfriend, the charming Raya; his brother, also a popular actor; and of course – his mother, who has been through most of it – from Yavor's birth with the umbilical cord entangled around his neck, through his wounds and surgeries, through the public scandal in the Big Brother house, until the day Yavor stood up in the court. We also observe the biography of an epoch – Yavor is a peer of modern Bulgaria, which replaced the totalitarian People's Republic in the late 80s. From then until now, the country has been on the difficult road to democracy, remaining, however, the poorest in the EU. Yavor grew up in a time of freedom, but also of chaos. Law of the jungle and all the temptations of the free market. There will be more mediums in our narrative: over 150 phone conversations; diary of meetings with the probation officer; regulary blood tests; video surveillance; self-recorded video testimonies of Yavor and Raya; Yavor's DNA-reliance; weekly drug tests. Happiness and terror are the poles between which Yavor plays this role that he writes himself. A happy ending is not guaranteed. As the most important support remains love – the love of Raya for Yavor and the love of Yavor for Raya. And the hope that they won't just stay together, but will be three someday. The child Yavor dreams of – a better self.

Putin's Playground

A pair of Polish filmmakers travel around Central and Eastern Europe and explore cases of hybrid warfare in this region. They show their investigation and the evidence they managed to produce in Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Moldova and Latvia - the countries of the post-Soviet camp. They do it in a cinematic way, creating a documentary in which they reveal what was supposed to remain hidden.
They discover that behind-the-scenes activities of Moscow special agents have been carried out regularly since at least 2013. The full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is accompanied by intensive covert actions in neighbouring countries which are considered next targets. This seems to be a part of Putin’s plan to regain the former Russian zone of influence in Europe.
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Find out more.