The Art of Short Filmmaking: INSIGHTS by IN THE PALACE ISFF

The Art of Short Filmmaking:

INSIGHTS 1

Abbe Robinson: I

WANTED THIS FILM TO REFLECT VENICE, TO BE DREAMY AND TIMELESS

Abbe Robinson is inspired by the story of the first woman gondolier in Venice, trying to present it just like the city – dreamy, timeless and quite intimate.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

Did you ever have to go through everything and everyone to pursue your dreams?

The film is about a young Venetian girl, Carla, who wants to become a gondolier like her father. The idea came to me when I was visiting Venice on holiday and I heard on the news that a woman had received a license to work as a gondolier. It was very controversial - there had never been a female gondolier in the 900 year history of gondoliers, and the men weren’t very happy about it!

I think most filmmakers, unless they have a lot of money, have to go through a lot to make their dreams a reality. I was lucky to have some previous short films funded by the UK Film Council, but you still have to ask a lot of favors from people in order to make it work.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director?

I love to make short films and I have a two more short projects happening at the moment. But I suppose like most filmmakers my ultimate ambition is to make a feature film. I have a couple of scripts in development so I hope to be shooting one in the next few years.

I approach every film differently but I have a team of people that I work with regularly. I think it’s important to have people who share your artistic vision and can bring their talents to the process. I wanted this film to reflect Venice, to be dreamy and timeless. I wanted to shoot intimately in order to become part of Carla’s world. How long did it take you to make your film? It took quite a long time. We shot the film in 4 days because that was all we could afford, but in the end I had to return almost 6 months later with a very, very small crew to shoot some pick-ups.

What are your main goals in your own future?

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I’ve never been to Bulgaria and I would love to visit. One of my previous short films “Private Life” played at the festival a few years ago but I couldn’t attend because I was filming another project. It was a shame because the festival has a great reputation and it’s in a beautiful place.

The Girl and the Gondola

/ dir. Abbe Robinson / Fiction / UK, Italy / 2013 / 11’ 42’/ 10 year old Carla dreams of becoming a gondolier like her father. However, 900 years of Venetian tradition and the disapproval of her parents stand in her way. Abbe Robinson studied Film Production at the International Film School, Wales, and has worked as an Assistant Director in Film and TV in the UK for over 12 years. Abbe has also been commissioned twice as a Writer/Director by the UK Film Council and Screen Yorkshire. Her previous short film “Private Life”, a 1950’s period drama, played at over 150 international film festivals and won 19 awards. Abbe is currently working on two feature film scripts.

WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT BUT THAT T EC SP RE ´T DON PLE PEO S TIME SOME

Aiser Urbieta:

An impressive tale from the director, Asier Urbieta, where he expresses how differences set us apart while individuals could bring the society closer. Disabilities, emotions and senses are also patented in the director´s words.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? I have always been interested in disability and human vision. I was thinking to do something about colorblindness, something very visual and educative. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? I focused on the boy´s emotional world, something very abstract and sensible. I tried to translate his feelings into a visual language. How long did it take you to make your film? I was preparing the film for two months, shooting for 4 days and editing for 1 month and another month to have the final cut. 1 year before I was already working on the financial part of the project, which was the hardest part.

What issues the film is problematizing? We all are different but sometimes people don´t respect that. Maybe they don´t respect that because they are even more different. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I have been two times at this festival before, in 2009 with a fiction “Pim Pam Pum” and in 2012 with a documentary “Taxi”. Both were magical, educative and very inspiring. The location for the In The Palace – International Short Film Festival is simply impressive and there are many interesting workshops and international directors and producers. It Is an honor to come back this year.

Arconada

/ dir. Aiser Urbieta / Fiction / Spain / 2013 / 11’/ Jon wants to be Arconada, the mythical goalkeeper of Real Sociedad, but is the substitute goalkeeper of the school soccer team. Asier Urbieta (1979) is working directing advertisement and documentaries. His short films “LARZABAL” (2003), “ARCO IRIS” (2005), “MUSIKA” (2007), “PIM PAM PUM” (2008),” TODO ES MAYBE” (2010), “MOLDATU” (2011) and “TAXI” (2012) have been awarded prizes in festivals around the world. He does body boarding for fun in his free time.

Alberto Iordanov:

METAPHORS, ABSURDITY AND DARK HUMOR

Alberto Iordanov, a young and up-and-coming Bulgarian director. Even thought completed his studies in another country, he never stopped appreciating what Bulgaria has to offer.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

What, in present Bulgaria, is fading just like “Central Station Sofia”

This was my first short film as a director and with it I graduated from Edinburgh College of Art. It was conceived and filmed in five days in a very spontaneous manner.

No, it depends on the angle we are looking at it. Definitely most of the state owned institutions are in an appalling state. I regret that there aren’t many positive things in the film, like the historic reconstruction of the station, which began last month.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? I am drawn to metaphors, absurdity and dark humor. Bulgaria is an ideal place for these three categories. In what way did studying abroad help your filmmaking career?

Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I was born and raised in Sofia and my first co-directed short film “Into Deep Space” (2012) was screened at your festival last year. I have never had the chance to attend but it seems like a very chilled and at the same time important international festival.

It made me see my country in a very different and fresh way. It also made me push myself to reach my full potential.

Central Station Sofia

/ dir. Alberto Iordanov / Documentary / Bulgaria, UK / 2013 / 13’ 18’/ Synopsys - Welcome to the surreal world of Central Station Sofia. Along the way you will encounter an empty hotel, a moving pine tree, hunters, forgotten glory from the past as well as hope pinned to a lottery ticket. It is a mosaic film that combines fragments from the lives of those who are a part of the biggest railway station in the Balkans. Alberto Iordanov is a young Bulgarian filmmaker. He studied film directing in Edinburgh.

STORY IS BORN FROM THE DESIRE TO TELL A LOVE STORY

Alessandro Grande: THIS

Alessandro Grande is taking us into the roma society, trying to break down the prejudice by telling us a love story. We will see “Margerita” in the palace in the next few days.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? This story is born from the desire to tell a love in an original way and to break down the prejudice that is against the Roms. There was a rom actor in my previous work; I appreciated the subtle irony and intelligence that characterized him, so much that I wanted to approach this population, to know them deeper. I realized how important music is to them and how important it is in life as in the movie. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? I fell madly in love in studying film directing at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Then I started to make first short films without great means and pretensions, I had to figure out if I would be able to know how to tell a story. The success of these short works, has brought me so much confidence and conviction, so I decided to take this road full time.

the few Italians to have stolen to the rom: during the party scene, they did not know to be resumed; the cameras were hid behind some people of the crew, to take maximum advantage of their expressiveness authentic. Everyone is able to change if given the chance. Was there something you did, that you weren´t that proud of, during the course of your life? I’m not proud of the injury that I had against Roms, before making this short film. I admit that when I approached this issue I had many doubts, and then I had the opportunity to know and appreciate the positive sides more than the negatives. It is important not to judge based on appearances. In your opinion what makes someone change? There may be many reasons, surely one is not feeling satisfied with themselves.

How long did it take you to make your film?

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival?

The preparation was intense, I attended for two months almost all Rom camps in Rome, I met many people and shared with them some important moments. The shooting lasted only three days instead. I think I was one of

I have never been and I’m very happy to come to Bulgaria. Despite knowing the festival and following it from Italy, I have never attended. I am honored that this story has also touched your soul.

Margerita

/ dir. Alessandro Grande / Fiction / Italy / 2013 / 15’/ Efrem, gypsy boy and skilled pickpocket, faces his first theft in an apartment. Alessandro Grande was born in Catanzaro (Italy) in 1983, director and producer. He graduated in History, Science and Techniques of Performing Arts, at the University of Roma Tor Vergata. His previous work titled “In My Prison” (2010), was presented at the Roma Fiction Fest 2010, and he got more than 100 official selections worldwide and over 30 awards. The new short film titled “Margerita”, was presented at the 43rd Giffoni Film Festival and in a few months of distribution has about 100 official selections and 40 awards.

Alice Vial: THE

ARTISTIC TEAM HAS TO FEEL FREE TO BE FULLY CREATIVE

Alice Vial insists on using the creative potential of her crew, letting them feel comfortable while shooting. She also likes dreaming of a strong “European Cinema”.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

Metaphorically if you´re climbing the stairs of life, what would be the next step for you?

My film is about a big furniture store where the clerks literally live there, in the decorum, to appeal the costumers. My biggest inspiration was of course the big stores, like the “Bon marché” in Paris, or the conformist world of IKEA. I’ve always loved stories that take place in big stores, like “Playtime”, by Jacques Tati, “The Big Store” by the Marx brothers or “Modern Times” by Chaplin.

Hopefully to make a first feature! Or at least to keep on directing! I’m really exiting about making a film with at least two languages in it, to break the frontiers, and not just for the conveniences of co-production. I like to fantasize about an “European cinema”, where people travel with their stories, even if it’s quite theoretical for the moment.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director?

I’m excited about telling stories and working with others. I hope I can find my own unique voice and at the same time never get stuck in the same kind of stories. “The man who knew a lot” is a burlesque comedy, but I wish to write all sorts of stories, social dramas as well, realistic comedies and even a western if the characters are interesting!

I like to form a team that I trust and feel comfortable with, and then let them be creative and propose things. The artistic team has to feel free to be fully creative. I like to be prepared and rehearse a lot with the actors for example, so they can find freedom on the set. I guess the artistic approach evolves with the projects and stories. How long did it take you to make your film? If I take in account the search for funding, it took my producer and I, two years to make the film. In the end we didn’t have the budget we hoped, but we decided to make it anyway.

What excites about your own work?

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? It is indeed my first time running for this festival, as I consider “The man who knew a lot” my first “professional” short film. I also like the fact that the festival really does its best to bring light to the director’s approach and vision, just as it is shown by this Q&A!

The man who knew a lot / dir. Alice Vial / Fiction / France / 2013 / 20’/ Mister Beranger works at Paradesign, a big furniture store, where the employees live day and night in the sceneries. Beranger himself lives in a cardboard cottage living room and excels at promoting his ‘footrest dachshund’. His life seems perfectly settled, until he gets promoted to the mysterious thirteenth floor...

Alice Vial is a writer and director, born in 1986 in Paris. Her first feature script ”Les Immortelles”, was selected at the Sopadin National Screenwriting Competition and is now developed by the production company Les Films du Cygne. Alice is currently co-writing an historical drama feature, produced by Mandarin Cinema. The project was selected at the Torino Film Lab in 2012 and will be directed by Anne Fontaine. Alice is preparing a new short called ”Wolf’s head”.

Alireza Nosrati:

THE IDEAS VITALIZE THE ARTWORK

Alireza Nosrati, first a graphic designer and now a director. If an idea is impossible to be expressed on paper, this film and this director prove that image and motion picture walk hand to hand.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you to create this short film? I’m a graphic designer. Usually different ideas come to my mind. I have thought about this idea for a year and I believe that if this idea is represented in a poster, cartoon or illustration, it would be inexpressible. On the other hand, I have passed a threemonth course of film-making to make a short film. That’s the way I changed my idea to a movie.

What’s next in your life? There are lots of ideas in my mind which are inexpressible via graphic design. I like to turn all of them into films and animations. I’ve decided to make my next film by the end of this year. For now, I’m providing the storyboard and I’m looking for an investor. Imagine something worth climbing for. What would you do to achieve it?

How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director?

Just film-making! To represent the ideas those of which I have in my mind.

As a graphic designer, I try to focus on the ideas, because this is the idea which vitalizes the artwork. In fact, the form and appearance of an artwork make the body and the idea and gives it a soul. I try not to use colors and texture a lot to highlight the ideas.

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this festival? I’ve never been to Bulgaria and I’ve acquainted with this festival via Real Port Website.

How long did it take you to make your film? I have had this idea in my mind for a year and it took only 2 months to produce it.

Clink

/ dir. Alireza Nosrati /animation / Iran / 2013 / 3’ 50’/ A man is collecting coins and piling them up. Coins fall from above and he stacks them like stairs. The stairs go higher and higher and the man climbs up the coins to place the new one where it belongs. The job becomes more difficult with every new coin that falls from above… and the man adamantly keeps on staking them, as we wonder why?... Alireza Nosrati was born in a small Village in 1977. He grew up in Shahrood, a nice city full of gardens. At the age of 18, he started his studies in the Faculty of Art at Tehran University. He got his Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design in 2000. He is now a professional graphic designer, mostly interested in caricature. Nevertheless, writing stories from time to time gives him a great pleasure. At the present time, he works as a graphic design supervisor in a TV channel. While activating his imagination, most of his artistic activity goes to television graphics such as designing concepts, logos and titles and at the end, making specific graphic spaces for TV programmes.

Aly Muritiba: I SPEAK ABOUT THINGS THAT I KNOW AND I

TRY TO MAKE SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN OTHER ARTISTS

Aly Muritiba details his point of view as a former prison guard himself that he wanted to share with the audience. What lies underneath that world.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? Well, for seven years I have worked in a prison in my country. I was a prison guard and at the same time I was studying cinema. So, to approach this subject was almost an obligation. First I made “The Factory”, a fiction short film, which had a great career in the film festival circuit. In “The Factory” we can see the world in the point of view of the prisoners’ relatives. In “Patio” (a documentary) the things come to us by the prisoners, but not through their eyes, but through their voices. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? I think that my artistic point of view is realistic. I speak about things that I know and I try to make something different than other artists. To be true, for me the artistic work and political action can go together, so I try to make films with these two characteristics.

How long did it take you to make your film? We worked during three weeks, shooting. The biggest and hardest work was the editing, because we had many hours of material, mainly sound. What would be your main goal as a film director, a filmmaker? To make films. And, who knows, to communicate my ideas with the audience. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? No, unfortunately I haven’t been in Bulgaria yet. I’m waiting for the invitation from In The Palace...(laughing) This is the second time there, the first one my short film won the prize. I really don’t know many things about In The Palace, but I think that is a serious film festival.

Quadrangle

/ dir. Aly Muritiba / Documentary / Brazil / 2013 / 17’/ Quadrangle is the second part of the prison trilogy from the director Aly Muritiba. The first movie was the short film The Factory, and in this one, Aly has decided to do an opposite movie his previous one. So he went inside a real prison and shot an observational documentary in order to register the everyday of life of a prison in Brazil. Aly Muritiba is screenwriter, producer and film director. His main achievements are the short film “The Factory”, shortlisted for the 83rd Academy Awards, and winner of 60 film awards in international festivals; and the new short film “Quadrangle”, winner at It’s All True, International Documentary Film Festival, and selected for the 52nd Semaine de La Critique at the Cannes Film Festival. His first feature film script “The man who killed my beloved dead” received the Global Award filmmaking at the Sundance Institute in 2013.

IS A REASON TO FIGHT THE FEAR OF GROWING UP

Anna Solanas & Marc Riba: LOVE

Marc Riba and Anna Solanas present us a puppet animation showing the internal fights when growing up. A brutal yet romantic story. A tale of misfortune, aggression and love.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? We had the idea of doing a story about the internal fight between the instincts and the need for socialization in human beings. At first we were going to locate the story in a forest full of wolves, taking the classic tale of “Little Red Riding Hood” as a starting point. But we realized that to talk about basic instincts would be more effective to use wild dogs, aggressive and unpredictable, instead the elegance and poise of the wolf. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work toghether? Each one has their own influences, and we add and mix them when we are working on a project. We both love movies, we met each other at the Cinema University of Barcelona, and after that we jumped to stop motion animation. The influence of our studies in live action cinema is really deep in our way of making puppet animation.

How long did it take you to make your film? We were shooting for 4 months, but we had spent 3 more months to build sets and puppets. The entire process took 1 year of hard work. What is the one message behind Canis you would like to share? For us Canis reflects on fears and how becoming an adult means finding reasons to fight, reasons to overcome these fears. And love is one of these reasons, maybe the most important reason. Of course, love has a lot of faces. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? We attended the festival in 2009 presenting another short film. The place is really original for a short film festival! We took the opportunity and visit Varna and Sofia as well. It’s a beautiful country!

Canis

/ dir. Anna Solanas & Marc Riba / Animation / Spain / 2013 / 17’/ Teo survives isolated in a house constantly besieged by a horde of stray dogs. Marc Riba and Anna Solanas have been working in the world of puppet animation for 12 years. They have made 7 short films which have been selected in more than 1000 festivals around the world.

Antoine Giorgini:

I LET MYSELF BE LED BY MY IDEAS

Antoine Giorgini had multiple experiences in cinema, in front, behind and all around the camera lense. «Bandit » is pretty realistic - with the casting, Antoine searched for young people who would be as closer as possible to his characters.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? I couldn’t say precisely what inspired me for this story. I let myself be led by my ideas, the way I looked at a certain abandoned youth and I mixed all of this to the film references that marked me when I was young. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? The most important thing for me was the casting: finding young people to whom this story could have really happened to. I looked for young people who already matched the parts. I didn’t want them to have to compose, to have to work a lot to be close to the characters I had written.

How long did it take you to make your film? I wrote it in about two months and the shooting lasted 8 days. If in need, how far would you go to save a human or creature? I think I would go far for a human being. For an animal it would depend on the reward. If it’s a frog I’d do anything! Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? I’ve never been to Bulgaria, or your festival. This is a first!

Bandits

/ dir. Antoine Giorgini / Fiction / France / 2013 / 16’ 24’/ Synopsys - After having committed robberies on the parking of a supermarket, Jimmy and Limo, two young thugs, take shelter in a forest to escape their pursuers. On their way, they meet a wounded boar. Jimmy decides to save the animal. After having studied filmmaking at the INRACI film school in Belgium, where he directed two shorts, Antoine Giorgini has worked as a set designer on numerous feature length fiction films. In 2012, he shot “Bandits” in France, produced by Petit Film and winner of the Moulin d’Andé scriptwriting contest. Broadcasted by France 2 and the RTBF, the film also has been selected to represent Wallonie Bruxelles Image in 2013 at the Short Film Corner of Cannes Film Festival.

OF MY BACKGROUND I LIKE MY , SM ALI RE LIKE I , FILM RY TA MEN CU IN DO TING UN HA T BU AL RE FEEL TO S FILM ION FICT

Antoneta Kastrati: BECAUSE

Antoneta tells us the sad story of war from her own perspective.Having lost her mother and sister in thе war in Kosovo she lead us through the imaginary outcomes of what could happen if she meets the killer.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? My mother and sister were killed during the Kosovo war, 14 years ago. In my journey as a filmmaker, I have just started to bring in the war experience into my films in the past few years, in a fiction form. “She Comes In Spring” is an exploration of my war experience and imagination of what it would be like if I confronted the killer, who today lives somewhere free in Serbia. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director?

ment to the story and when it adds another dimension. On the other hand, I like surrealism and I like to play with present, past, dreams and fantasy but use them in an organic way, moving from one to the other. Last, because I grew up in a village, I have a special sensibility towards beauty in nature and like to represent them in my films, and always do. How long did it take you to make your film? 2 months of fundraising and pre-production, 5 days of shooting and 5 months of post-production. So, 10 months in total. What would make you regret a decision?

Because of my background in documentary film, I like realism, I like my fiction films to feel real but haunting and this is my approach to directing actors, cinematography and production design. I like to stay away from flashy, stylized esthetics. The same goes for music. I don’t like to use music much, I only like to use music when it is an essential ele-

The only times I would regret a decision, is if that decision was made ignoring my instincts. As filmmakers we need to listen to our inner unique voice and made decisions based on that, and when we do that in our work, we are never wrong.

She Comes in Spring

/ dir. Antoneta Kastrati / Fiction / USA, Republic of Kosovo / 2013 / 16’ 11’’/ Goran, a single father living in a remote village of Serbia, returns home from the store to find his young daughter missing and a strange woman at his door. Goran is forced to recount a fateful day 12 years earlier during the Kosovo war. Antoneta Kastrati is a documentary and narrative filmmaker. Originally from Kosovo, she holds a masters degree in Journalism and has completed Directing Studies at the prestigious American Film Institute. In her 10 years of filmmaking, Antoneta has directed and produced dozens of socially relevant documentaries. Her award-winning films have screened in festivals around the world, including Busan International Film Festival, Sarajevo, Los Angeles and Berlin.

AS A FILMMAKER YOU REALLY SHOULD FEEL THE URGE TO MAKE A MOVIE Arian Vazirdaftari:

Arian Vazirdaftari states his tremendous passion for filmmaking and shares a little about Iranian culture and his intake on his film.

unrealistic plan, because after the first day, we found out that my grandmother couldn`t work for more than about 6 hours in the day and after this limit she couldn`t focus cause she was very tired. As an Iranian, what event would be the greatest for you? Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? The Idea of Mrs. Colonel came to my mind after focusing on a new trend along Iranian Women (usually old ones). They follow these foreign (usually Colombian) series, which are dubbed in Persian. (These series are kind of anti-intellectual and the Persian dubbing is somehow exaggerated which makes it funny). My grandmother, who played the role of Mrs. Colonel in the movie, was and is a big fan of these series. I was fascinated by the way she loved these series and thought this is really what makes her happy in the old age, when she rarely gets out of her house. I thought if her happiness collides with a bigger event for the rest of Iranians (something like an important world-cup pre selection football match), it would start a dramatic atmosphere and a story about the multi-dimensional meaning of happiness for each human being. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? I am very much interested in the idea that as a filmmaker you really should feel the urge to make a movie. I mean you should feel like if I won`t tell my story, something would be dislocated and wrong in my mind and I should tell it because I want the idea to let go of me and my mind. I am usually taken with stories about old or middle aged characters; maybe I am getting old too soon. How long did it take you to make your film? We planned to shoot the movie in 4 days, but it was such an

Our traditional new year`s event is called “Norooz”, which is the celebration of the Spring season. It is the most important event for us, the Iranians, and includes some sub-events like “Chaharshanbe soori” and “Sizdah Be Dar”, the first one is the last Wednesday night before our new year which is celebrated with fireworks and etc. and the other one is the celebration of the 13th day of the new year passing without any bad happenings. What kind of hero would you be? What superpower would you have? I would like to have the power to make the powerful people (small or major ones: politicians, dictators, carters and etc.), who put other people in the world in bad conditions or miseries, really feel the bad situation of others so that they would correct their behavior and act on the behalf of justice. I would do that by pointing my finger towards them, (The superpower should work when I see them on TV as well!) and I guess this superpower should come in a package among the knowledge to judge those powerful people! Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? No, I have not been to Bulgaria (and very much look forward to come there for the festival) and yes I am a first timer in this festival. I became familiar with the festival through reelport. com and after visiting your website decided to submit my film at your Festival. It was really exiting to get into the Festival competition and I was glad that I could tell a very much domestic and native story in a way that people with other cultures could relate to it and pick the film for their festival.

Mrs.Colonel

/ dir. Arian Vazirdaftari / Fiction / Iran / 2013 / 14’ 53’/ An old woman is awaiting a “wedding”, which she wants to celebrate with her children. On this same day the pre world-cup football match (Iran-South Korea) is the most important event for all other Iranians. She has waited so long for this “wedding” but no one seems to care.

Arian Vazirdaftari, Like everyone else story, begins with watching movies and feeling like a hero. He studied Industrial Design at the University of Tehran, but soon found out that his desire for being a filmmaker won`t let me go, so he participated in KARNAMEH classes (an independent Film Institute in Tehran) and learned the basics of filmmaking. “Mrs. Colonel” is his 5th project as an independent filmmaker.

I WOULDN’T MIND GETTING AWAY FROM MYSELF SOMETIMES

Arjun Talwar:

Arjun Talwar put into practice his attitude to documentary filmmaking relying on intuition built by spending time with his characters in advance.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? The main character is the person after whom I was named. I had apparently known him as a child, but have no memory of that. Someone told me: “You have more than a name in common”, so out of curiosity I visited him. Sensing I would want to make a film, I took some equipment along just in case. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? I try to create a kind of stylistic unity that eventually “becomes” the film itself. It’s not so obvious how to do this in a documentary, since with every shot, you are sacrificing several other shots. But you build intuition by spending time with your characters before bringing out the camera. I think something substantial needs to unite the filmmaker with his characters, besides empathy. So that it is justifiable when he makes his presence felt.

How long did it take you to make your film? About two weeks of observation, another week and a half of shooting. If you were to be a hermit, where would you go and what or whom would like to distance yourself from? I wouldn’t mind getting away from myself sometimes. You´ve met some of the corners of the World. What is your destination? I wish I could answer this precisely. I would like to settle in a small country, because communities seem much more tangible in those places. But I will probably end up in a very noisy city somewhere. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? It will be my first time in Bulgaria. I’ve heard that the festival is great, but I don’t know much. Just that there is a sea and it is full of fish!

Where I can’t be found

/ dir. Arjun Talwar / Documentary / India, Poland / 2013 / 15’ 50’/ A hermit wanders across his valley in Southern India, interacting with it’s various other inhabitants. He contemplates life. Arjun Talwar grew up in Bombay, leaving to study Mathematics at Stanford University. While working for a newspaper in Tbilisi, Georgia during the 2008 conflict with Russia, he began taking pictures. Currently, he is at the Polish National Film School where he is in his final year.

Ayman El Amir: THE CAMERA IS MY TOOL

TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS

Ayman El Amir exposes the conflicts in Middle East and the movie industry but gives hope where sometimes there isn´t none. Ayman misses certain aspects of his life but he believes. audience and turn them into consumerists. Rage against the traditional art and film tools, which are isolating and denaturing is my role, and my filmmakers’ generation role, to reform our tools, to create effective and humanizing contemporary vision, to create a new visual language that contribute to push the region forward in all aspects. Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? “Love, Dream and Heaven” is a modern-day musical, about an expatriate Egyptian worker who falls in love with another expatriate Syrian refugee girl. But their love suffers immensely from his arrogant boss, his poverty, surrounding harassers and their longing each to their countries which are shaped again from ruination and devastation. The central theme relating to the plot exposes the true nature of love and the essential desire for every human to be loved in spite of the conflicting political and social situations and backgrounds in the Middle East region. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? I believe, my artistic approach belongs, in concept and theory, to the school of the third world cinema. Ally my characters in my films are anti-heroes. I am trying always to display a condition that reflects how we live in a certain society. My style uses handheld camerawork and crossing the borders between fiction and documentary genres to build my narrative. I think one of the reasons for the bad status of my region (Egypt and the Middle East), is unfortunately, rather than liberating us, our technologically driven art forms like cinema, video and photography are finally numbing and paralyzing us because they seem to require passivity of their

How did you, or how would you express your love towards someone else? In 2011, I made a short 3 minutes video about how I miss my girlfriend, after I left to pursuit my film master degree for a long time. The camera is my tool to express my feelings, as the pen for writers and the painting brush for painters. Metaphorically how would you embody the things you miss the most? I can see the things I miss the most every day in the sun while it is in the daily journey to dawn. I spent most of the last four years away from my country, my beloved city, Alexandria and my fiancée. However, I can claim I can see them all in the red dusk of the sun every day. (Love, dream and Heaven) is a film about seeds of love that can grow in spite of the harsh circumstances and distances. I made it as a small gift for my fiancée that I miss a lot. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I have not been to Bulgaria before and it is the first time for me in the IN THE PALACE FILM FESTIVAL. This is the European premiere of my film. I am looking forward to meet the audience and discuss my film with them and hear their feedback in one of the most important and prestigious film festivals in Bulgaria and the region.

Love, Dream and Heaven

/ dir. Ayman El Amir / Fiction / Egypt, Jordan / 2013 / 11’ 20’/ A modern-day musical about expatriate Egyptian worker and his search for his home which is embodied in the love of a Syrian girl. Ayman El Amir started as a practicing physician before becoming a filmmaker. He has a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts, RSICA. His Filmography includes directing and producing many short fiction and documentary films that have screened in many international film festivals.

Script Should Be The Absolute Basis For Work

Bartosz Kruhlik: The

Bartosz Kruhlik takes us back to our youth when incidents influenced our mentality a lot and left a mark even to present time.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? To create this movie “The Heat” inspired me one situation from life of my professor, Andrzej Mellin. It was a completely random situation in his youth. Someone terrorized him with a knife. Nothing really happened, but this incident had influenced him. I have found myself in the story. I have found my own intruders from the past. Of course, my film is not biographical, the story with intruder in the forest is invented. But I really identify with the main character - Michael. I also wanted to make a film about initiation. Not sexual but general initiation. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? My artistic approach, is changing all the time. Because I am changing all the time. Some time ago, for example, I was very excited about working with improvisation. Today I think differently, that the script should be the absolute basis for work. All the time I was looking for my language of expression in a movie.

different. The director of one of my favorite movies “Enter the void”, supposedly did only post-production to this movie for more than one year. What scares you in life? Accidental situations / Anonymous danger / What cannot be seen / What we expect / Open infinite space / When the plane takes off / Love Have you ever been “hostage” of someone, a relationship, a situation? Yes, for sure, but not literally, not in one short situation.

How long did it take you to make your film?

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival?

Very long. From beginning of shots, to finished work with sound, this was 9 months. This is absolutely too long for short movie I think. Sometimes I laugh that I was born child. And it was a very painful process. I think that movies should be created quickly. On a cumulative energy. Too long post-production process do not affect good on film. But of course everyone is

I´ve never been to Bulgaria. I know your festival for many years and I really appreciate it. Many times I shipped my older movies, unfortunately, they didn’t qualify. But now I am very happy that I will be able to come to the festival in person and show my movie to the audience. See you there!

The Heat

/ dir. Bartosz Kruhlik / Fiction / Poland / 2013 / 23’ 30’/ 1. Coal or wood afire to redness, 2. High air temperature, 3. Vehemence of feelings. Bartosz Kruhlik was born in 1985 in Lubsko (Poland) Currently he is studying in PWSFTViT in Lodz Directing Department. His first documentary film “Tomorrow…” got 40 awards.

Bigna Tomschin: I

TRY TO TELL THE STORY WITH AS MUCH HUMOR AS POSSIBLE

Bigna Tomschin presents us her vision of growing up – a moment of realizing that your parents have not only answers, but questions as well.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

Have you lost something that you recuperate? Sometimes you lose the trust and then you regain it.

I wanted to make a film about the one moment when the home you grew up in loses its magic. In my story this happens on one particular evening, in real life it’s more or less a process of growing up. You start to realize that your parents have their own problems and questions towards life. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? For me it’s important to have a very sincere approach to the subject, an urge to tell this exact story. When I find my own approach to it I try to tell the story with as much humor as possible. How long did it take you to make your film?

How would you summarize your best relationship? Parental, brotherly, friendly or lovable way. Among many different relationships one has in a life, it’s the little moments I enjoy most. It can be with family, friends, a lover or a stranger you meet and you make something special out of it. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I have never been to Bulgaria before and I am very excited what it will be like and what reactions I will get for my film. Balchik sounds like an amazing place and I’m happy for the possibility to see it.

We shot the film in six days and it took us almost have a year to edit it. Making movies is a process – you have to trust it and let it surprise you.

Wallpapers

/ dir. Bigna Tomschin / Fiction / Switzerland / 2013 / 14’ 30’/ Jan is a young student visiting his family after exam time and is looking forward to the familiar and cosy atmosphere at home. But some things seem to have changed and no one wants to talk about it. As he finds out bit by bit he has to realize that his idea of family no longer exists. «Wallpapers» is a movie about relationships, family and eventually about growing up. Bigna Tomschin was born in 1990 in Zurich, Switzerland. She is studying film at Zurich filmschool (ZHdK) since 2010 and works as editorand editing assistant in various filmproductions.Golden Lion at Cannes with a film for Cyber Lions. In 2012, took over the artistic direction of the program Claim, channel Multishow.

ALWAYS DO THE RIGHT THING, BUT NOT ALWAYS THE RIGHT WAY

Boris Bajkov: I

Boris Bajkov speaks in a modest way. A hard working director with a simple, direct and personal approach to his film.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

Have you done something in the past or present that you might feel you don´t deserve or have done very little to earn?

Most people break up with a girl, and then shoot a movie. I broke up with an Empire.

I am surrounded by things I don’t deserve.

How would you describe your artistic approach in your work, ever so present, as a director?

Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival?

I always do the right thing, but not always the right way.

I still remember In The Palace 2005 – the year, when a wonderful German short movie named “Grief” won the main award. A truly awesome movie, based on A. Chekhov’s short story. They don’t make them like this anymore.

How long did it take you to make your film? Half a year. Are you a blessed person? In either way please explain. I am a hard-working man.

Quota

/ dir. Boris Baykov / fiction / Bulgaria, Russia / 2013 / 21’ 11’/ Young, unemployed Anton suddenly receives a hard-to-refuse offer from a mysterious Ministry of Quotas. There’s a tough choice to be made. Boris Baykov has graduated in Directing in Moscow. “Quota” is his graduating film and it is as personal as it gets.

Bradley Porter: TRYING

TO MAKE FILMS LIKE THE ONES I LOVEd GROWING UP, BUT MAKING THEM MY OWN

Bradley Porter intends to show a little bit of the old with a fresh twist of the new. A perfectionist, who´s always looking for innovation rather than emulation.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? I wanted to take a psychological concept and apply it to a sci-fi narrative. The original idea was to make a comedy about a man and his imaginary male friend, but I couldn’t quite get it to work. I love musicals more than life itself, and looked for ways I could make this into one… I have no idea how to write songs, so decided to make it a silent film and went from there. It was a chance to make something romantic, old fashioned but with a modern twist. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? If I never get the chance to make a film again, I’d hate to think I’d wasted time making the same film twice. That’s the driving force to my approach to filmmaking, to try something I haven’t done before. I am trying to make films like the ones i love growing up, but making them my own.

How long did it take you to make your film? The script was written in April 2011 while on the set of “The Iron Lady”. We started prep in April 2012 and shot over 6 days in July & August 2012. Post production was finished in April 2013, after 8 months working on “Philomena”. What barriers, in your opinion, are impossible to overcome when love is involved? I’ll let you know when I come up against any. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I haven’t been to Bulgaria before, but have wanted to visit for a while. It is the first time running for the festival as it’s only the 2nd short film I’ve ever made, and all I knew prior to submitting is how beautiful the area is….

Coconut Shy

/dir. Bradley Porter / Fiction / UK / 2013 / 13’ 18’/ Patrick and Rosie have a unique relationship, which seems unbreakable. Friends since they were children, they share a love for 1930’s Hollywood Musicals and dancing. One day, on his way to work, Patrick meets Faye and it’s love at first sight. Having studied Film and TV Production at the University of Bristol, Bradley Porter was quick to move into Production work in the UK Film Industry. Starting with Kevin Macdonald’s Life In a Day, he has worked closely on productions such as “The Iron Lady“, Ron Howard’s “Rush“ and Stephen Frears‘ “Philomena“ and untitled Lance Armstrong film to learn as much as possible from within the industry. Using this experience, he has begun to make his own short films and music videos, and is currently shooting his latest, “Auld Lang Syne“ to be released in 2015.

THINK MY ARTISTIC VISION IS DIRECTLY STORY THE TELLING IN TY VI TI SI SEN Y M TO ED RELAT

Cesar Netto: I

Cesar Netto describes the formula that lies behind the specific approach of any director to the way a story has been told.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

Did you ever feel like an outcast? No.

The “Satúrnica” film comes from the vices of human beings, their madness, and their secrets. My inspiration tells this story. A constant curiosity about human relationships and their distortions. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? I think my artistic vision is directly related to my sensitivity in telling the story. Directing in my opinion is a way to tell the story, intensely seeking any feeling that makes you part of those moments, as another “character” quiet or ready to yell at any time.

What are your main manias and phobias? I don’t have manias but I have a lot of fears that drives me to overcome them. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? No I´ve never been there but if it was possible I would love to come. I’m passionate for travelling and get to know new cultures. I know about it from the platforms and it is my first time in this festival.

How long did it take you to make your film? The shooting time was 5 days, however when you think the movie for the first time you are already working in your mind and dreaming about it. Anyway, the whole process took 6 months.

Saturnica

/ dir. Cesar Netto / Fiction / Brazil / 2013 / 15’/ Ana is a young woman who hides a strange compulsion. She realized as a child and her mania grows along with her desire, through the stages of discovery, euphoria and suffering. Satúrnica shows about how differences each human being can be accepted or not by the community. Cesar Netto, 40 years old, 18 years working in the production of advertising films, documentaries, television series, music videos, short films and political campaigns. Director since 1997. Directed in advertising campaigns for major brands. In 2003 won Golden Lion at Cannes with a film for Cyber Lions. In 2012, took over the artistic direction of the program Claim, channel Multishow.

Chema Garcia Ibarra: THE

IDEA OF COMBINING VERY DIFFERENT CONCEPTS IS THE MOST INTERESTING THING FOR ME

Chema Garcia Ibarra mystifies us with his wonder for science fiction, the paranormal and a necessity for mystery while globalizing these topics in a very natural way.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? The origin of “MISTERIO”, the initial idea, came from that particular moment where religion, superstition, the living in a working class neighborhood and compulsive science fiction readings were forming part of the same universe. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? The idea of combining very different concepts is the most interesting thing for me when it comes to writing and making films: putting together comedy and drama, or a science fiction story inserted in a domestic life, mixing them in a natural way, putting them to share the same space, the same shots...

How long did it take you to make your film? Since I sat down to write the script until the final cut, one year. What do you find “mysterious”? What I don’t understand and letting my imagination fly freely is a very pleasant sensation. I love not to understand everything in a story. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? Some years ago I had a short film called “Protoparticles” in the festival. Some people from my crew went there and they spent a great time!

Mystery

/ dir. Chema Garcia Ibarra / Fiction / Spain / 2013 / 12’/ They say that if you put your ear to the back of his neck, you can hear the Virgin Mary speak. Chema Garcia Ibarra was born in Elche in Spain in 1980, he studied Аdvertising and Public Relations at the Universidad de Alicante. Alongside music videos and commercials, he has also made three short films which have screened at over 500 festivals around the world.

ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR IS BOTH VANT IRRELE Y EL UT SOL AB D AN NT TA POR IM Y DIBL INCRE

Christopher Bisset: THE

Christopher Bisset, a director and an environmentalist. A human being, concerned about the world he lives in. What is his weapon? This fiction that truly hits the spot in terms of awareness.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? It all started with a brief from the Berlin International Film Festivals’ Berlin Talent Campus. They had issued a worldwide call for films which considered the idea of ‘every step you take’. My “answer” was a film about the invisible violence which is ever-present in our global, hyper capitalist society. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? I try to spend as much time and effort as possible building good teams. The role of the director is both incredibly important and absolutely irrelevant, as ultimately, everything that ends up on screen is the contribution of everyone else in the production.

What impact do you wish to achieve with your film? I hope it will contribute in some small way to a greater understanding of, and engagement with, the systemic violence of mass consumerism. I hope that people will be encouraged to think about the negative effects of our collective actions, and to try to make steps to lessen these.

How long did it take you to make your film?

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival?

We worked on it intensively for three months in Berlin. We had written the script before this point, and the post-production continued for a few weeks afterwards, so maybe four months, all together.

I know only that it takes place in Balchik, and is the most prestigious festival in Bulgaria. I have not yet visited Bulgaria, and I’m very excited to do so.

Five Ways to Kill a Man

/ dir. Christopher Bisset / Fiction / Germany / 2012 / 12’/ “Five Ways to Kill a Man” is the story of a day in the life of Sam, a young man who lives in a world unlike ours. Sam’s is a world where the effects of every decision he makes are constantly made visible to him. Christopher Bisset: 1986, born in Cape Town, South Africa. 2006 - 2010 University of Cape Town, Bachelor of Architecture (HONS). Filmmaker since 2010. Founder of Special Moves Creativity Club in Cape Town.

Daniel Gal: WE

WANTED TO FIND A WAY TO BREAK STEREOTYPES Daniel Gal is an erudite on social matters, a taboo and stigma fighter. Though not acknowledged at times, this director pushes through and pursues his deserved righteousness to express himself. How long did it take you to make your film? We had a tight schedule because it was screened as part of the Ir Amim “Jerusalem Moments” project in JFF. It took 6 month from the materialization of the concept to final edit. Most effort went into finding that group of magnificent people that shared their amazing stories.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? Prior to this film I’ve made several documentaries that touched the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These films were not well received in the Israeli society and felt like they missed the point of introducing to the audience people from the other side of the conflict. And so when I wrote the idea, together with the producer Eden Lazaness, we wanted to find a way to break stereotypes, but in a way “enemies” will listen to each other. We chose to film on the New Jerusalem light train because it just started it service and made a lot of waves (both positive and negative). The line connected Jewish and Arab neighborhoods that are usually culturally separated. Not deliberately the train connected societies together and created a lot of tension, but also a chance for dialogue. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? Our first approach was to get 8-10 characters; none would be the main character. We wanted to give the viewer similar feeling to riding the train; observing a person, and just when you feel you’ve cracked who or what he/she is, they leave the train and a different person sits instead. The use of voice over helped obscure the characters “stereotype” at first, and in a way so did the editing of their stories; first we get to know them on a superficial level and only later find their identity is not what we thought…

What, in your opinion, is the main feature, which unites people from every country, creed and culture? It seems that human nature, throughout the history of mankind, always led communities or bands to separate and battle over disagreements. Option for unity is usually a result of lack of basic life products, an option for increasing in life quality as a result of unification, or a common enemy. Unification based on true observation and acceptance of the other seems unlikely in the present world, unless fundamental changes within the system we live in will take place. Describe us, from your point of view, Jerusalem. How is it like for you? I have a lot of memories in Jerusalem and it will always have a warm place in my heart, but the communities within it (and you might say generally in Israel) become more extreme in the past years. It seems the city that connects to most cultures closes its doors to people rather than invite them. Politic progress in the past two decades made more and more conflicts to rise. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? Sadly, I have never been to Bulgaria. Yet.I hear that Israelis have a bad reputation in the country and I would definitely do my best to make it even worst!

From Man to Man, We Pass Like Strangers... / dir. Daniel Gal / Documentary / Israel / 2012 / 24’/

Jerusalem - ‘the center of the world’ - inhabits many different characters with different stories. The social tension and complexity of Jerusalem is represented with the regular passengers of the newly inaugurated urban train. 7 passengers and the train driver - each from a very different background. Beneath these various identities, religions & cultures, they reveal they are not so different from each other. Daniel Gal is award winning director and cinematographer based between areas known as UK and Israel and working without geographic boundaries. Hailing from the mountains of the unsettled city Jerusalem, Daniel engaged in films early on as a cinematographer. Years later, shriek of wind led him to start making his own films in addition to his cinematography work. Since he has been involved in motion pictures, arts, activism, human rights and actions even he cannot explain, his main output still remains films. Among his works as a director and DoP are ”Children’s Story”, ”The Ninth President”, ”To See if I’m Smiling”, ”The Fading Valley”, ”Nine to Five”, „Yes, Miss Commander!” and many more.

DO NOT WANT TO MAKE MOVIES ION JUST FOR THE SAKE OF THE PROFESS

Daniel Sandu: I

Daniel Sandu tells us a story about his own decision-making mechanism in the sphere of filmmaking with the conclusion that it is always the audience who give the final decision.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

Have you ever faced a conundrum almost impossible to solve?

A fellow writer told me a story he had witnessed a few years ago. I immediately liked this story about a decision-making mechanism. How do we know which decision is better and especially how do we take the decision not having any remorse later? Also it’s a story about the seed of doubt in an international context of racial prejudice.

No, not really. In general I try to anticipate difficulties as early as possible and solve them in advance. This doesn’t mean surprises do not happen.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director?

I learned that it is good for me and for the project to listen to all opinions but at the end to take what I think is the best decision. I learned that for me is more important that all people involved in my films have an enjoyable atmosphere and work with pleasure and so this feeling will somehow “print” on the screen.

I decided to make only movies that I would love to watch in cinema as a simple viewer. I do not want to make movies just for the sake of the profession. So I only choose subjects that sparkle inside me an emotion I’d like to share with the audience. And I like to make films with “grey heroes”. How long did it take you to make your film? “Second Voice” was filmed in just two days. Apart from the two days of shooting we had about a month of pre-production and a week of post-production.

You´ve been working for the film industry for quite a long time. What have you learned about it and about yourself in the process?

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I’ve been only a few times in Bulgaria, twice in transit to Greece and Turkey and twice visited Balchik but never at a film festival and never spending a night there. But I look forward to this opportunity at In The Palace film festival. :)

Second Voice

/ dir. Daniel Sandu / Fiction / Romania / 2013 / 13’/ Gabi, a social worker at a foster, finds herself trapped in her own preconceptions when a gypsy mother comes to take her children home for Christmas. Born in Piatra-Neamt in 1977, Daniel Sandu attended the Music school (he studied viola for 5 years, musical theory for 3 years and piano for 2 years) and then the Orthodox Theological School “St. George” in Roman. In 2002 he graduated from the film directing department of the MEDIA University.

THE COLLAPSE OF DREAMS HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF THE TOPICS WHICH INTEREST ME THE MOST Daniela Sokolova:

Daniela Sokolova based her film from a story by Deyan Even, though wanted to maintain its originality, cinematically she accentuated the story with her own twists and turns

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? The film has been created in the framework of Master Class of Prof. Georgi Djulgerov and the inspiration came out of the marvelous short story by Deyan Enev on which it is based. The collapse of dreams has always been one of the topics which interest me the most. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? There are always certain difficulties with adapted scripts, as following the original story literally, word by word is not what the film needed. We tried to keep the spirit of the story and the conflict and it took us efforts on focusing the main accent on the lack of freedom and the loss of dreams. How long did it take you to make your film?

Paris is described as romantic often. What is the most romantic place for you and why? It’s actually the dream of it which is romantic in this case. Any place could be romantic as long as it’s imaginary; it’s a matter of emotion, not the place itself. Unfortunately, sometimes dreams crash into reality and the desire to commit a good deed is punished. What makes your life interesting and worth living for? Exploring depth of emotions in all possible variations and recreating it on screen. Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? Of course as a Bulgarian I know the festival since many years. I’m happy I had the opportunity to attend it last year and even happier to have my own film screening at this year’s edition.

It took three months of pre-production, only two days of shooting and long hours of post-production.

Paris

/ dir. Daniela Sokolova / Fiction / Bulgaria / 2014 / 08’ 05’/ Valeria is a nurse at a psychiatry. Her daily routine is quite grey and boring. But yet, she dreams of Paris. Her desire to set one of the patients free for a while is not well received by the janitor and key-guardian Deyan. Their shift turns fatal and her dreams collapse. Daniela Sokolova was born in 1983 in Sofia where she graduated from her bachelor degree in Acting and Theatre Directing. She specialized in Hogeschool voor den Kunsten in Utreht, The Netherlands and later worked in the National Theatre “Ivan Vazov“. Now she is about to graduate with Master degree of Filmmaking at New Bulgarian University. “Paris“ has been created in the framework of the Master class of Prof. Georgi Djulgerov.

IT WAS AN ADVENTURE THE NEXT DOOR D BEHIN AS W T HA W W KNE VER NE E W E US BECA

Dennis Stauffer & Pascal Reinmann:

Dennis Stauffer and Pascal Reinmann open door by door both at shooting site and in main characters thoughts.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? The film was made during the first year of our studies. We had a task to make a short documentary about any topic we liked. First, we had some other ideas, but then Pascal came up with the story of his friend David. It’s where I started to be curious about it, too. We knew the place where he used to work was shut down some years ago and all employees lost their jobs. The place has a unique atmosphere in Switzerland. It’s actually one of the biggest industrial facilities. When we visited the area for the first time we knew we had the perfect place to combine the story of David with cinematic visuals. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? We are both very visual people, so we knew we wanted to make a film where pictures have an important role. We needed to create a room for the story, because talking heads would be too simple.

It was a great experience to shoot in such an environment. It was an adventure because we never knew what was behind the next door. The film is built in a similar way, we explore, we hear, we see and try to get closer to David’s thoughts. How long did it take you to make your film? The film was shot in only four days. That includes the interviews and visuals. However we had only four weeks to finish the project, from the first idea to the first draft. After this we worked again some weeks to improve, shorten and mix the whole film. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? We have never been to Bulgaria and we never submitted a film to In The Palace before. We hope to make it to the festival. We made great acquaintances in previous screenings and would love to do so in Balchik, too. We saw that it’s in a beautiful location next to the coast.

Standstill

/ dir. Dennis Stauffer, Pascal Reinmann / Documentary / Switzerland / 2013 / 16’ 25’/ Standstill deals with a tragic story that took place in an abandoned cellulose factory. Two friends take us back in time and talk about the day their lives changed. Dennis Stauffer - Born in 1990 in Solothurn, Switzerland. Apprenticeship as electronics engineer. Since 2012 studies Film at ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste). Works as freelance photographer and cinematographer. Pascal Reinmann - Born in 1989 in Herzogenbuchsee, Switzerland. 2008 Apprenticeship as carpenter. Since 2012 studies Film, specialization cinematography at ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste ). 2013 Cofounds Nordhang Film GmbH.

I LIKE REAL CHALLENGES – WHAT HAPPENS IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA, BUT IT IS NOT SET AND POWDERED Dessy Tombusheva:

Dessy Tombusheva counts the 10 years of inspiration as part of the realization of her film, She arouses the topic of homophobia in quite a straight and pure way.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? I made the movie about a gay lady, which I know since 2001, when I saw her on a TV broadcast. For more than 10 years I observed the attitude towards gay people all around the country. I have some gay friends, they’ve never complained of people’s quarrel. So, Dessy impressed me with her energy to fight all the time against injustice. She is always in a combat. She is different and I like different people. She is very strong and nowadays she improves all that I’m saying now… Don’t ask me what I mean. This is my next movie subject. Expect to realize it as soon as possible. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? I don’t have much experience as a director. I can only say that the documentary is a challenge for me. I’m not attracted of feature film which is set, and there is a result after 3-8 retakes/doubles. I like real challenges – what happens in front the

camera, but it is not set and powdered. The footage where someone reveals something unique to the rest of the people and it’s not a hoax... It inspires me. How long did it take you to make your film? 4 months. If we count the inspiration – 10 years. But since the idea and realization – four months. It was difficult with the sound, and I apologize to all viewers about it. What, in your opinion, has to change to overcome differences such as homophobia and racism? Manners. But manners are associated with intelligence and perception. Perhaps the closer to the East, the harder it is considered a gay orientation. I make an association with religion also... But it’s a long and difficult topic. Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? Yes, this is my first time running for the Festival.

Soldier

/ dir. Dessyslava Tombusheva / Documentary / Bulgaria / 2014 / 15’ 50’/ A young gay lady, named Dessy Soldier is submitting her confusing life and disagreeing the homophobia and lack of understanding the people with different attitude. Dessy Tombusheva: 2008 - Editor in chief of “Conte international Club Magazine” 2009 - 2011 - Editor of BTV broadcasts “The mother’s hour”, “The day is wonderful” 2011 - Editor in chief of “Home cooking” 2011-2014 Editor in chief of BNT broadcast “ Fast, Easy, Delicious” 2012 -2016 - student at NATFA, Film and television directing.

ALWAYS TRYING TO TAKE A VERY ING FILM ST TERE IN AN TO IN IT RN TU D AN EA ID SIMPLE

Dieter Deswarte: I´VE

Dieter Deswarte embarked on a voyage and by doing so allows us to understand his take on the world and experience the same as he did with a car that many consider the very worst.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? This film was part of an international competition. 7 Filmmakers were selected to participate in the documentary project called Cinetrain. Each of us was asked to make a different short film about a Russian Stereotype. In my case I was assigned the “LADA”. The project was inspired by the Russian Filmmaker Medvedev, who travelled by train through the country to document life in his country. As him we embarked on a month long journey by train through Russia stopping in several towns with the aim to have by the end of it a short film that represented our stereotype. The whole project took place during the month of January. In deep winter we travelled from Murmansk, the largest city in the Arctic Circle through to Siberia where we spend our last few days on the island of Olkhon, a small island on Lake Baikal. When I learned about this project I was completely appealed by the challenge of trying to make a film within one month while travelling through a country that was largely unfamiliar to me. As a filmmaker I’ve always been interested in trying to take a very simple idea and turn it into an interesting film. With this project I was able to do exactly that. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? In my work I value strongly the intimacy between me and my characters. I always try to observe human nature in its most pure form. I never try to hide my presence as a filmmaker but try to let the viewer see a new world through my gaze. For this film in particular I wanted to have the majority of the film take place on the inside of the LADA car, as if the viewer was riding along with the different characters that I met across my journey in Russia. Through my edit I really wanted to play with the uniformity of the

car and edit the film in such a way as if everybody was travelling in the same vehicle. How long did it take you to make your film? As the aim was to complete our film during the period of the Cinetrain project, the film was near completion upon our arrival back in Moscow. We edited the movie on the Trans-Siberian express on the way back to Moscow, which took five days. The film was then screened upon arrival for a first time to a large audience at the documentary center in Moscow. Afterwards, we worked for a few weeks still on adjusting the edit, doing audio postproduction and color grading. Where would you go and on which set of wheels? At the moment I’m really keen to discover China. Once there I’d try to get around by public transport. Being on a bus or a train with strangers for a long time is often a very good way to meet people. I’m also very keen to return to St-Helena, which is a small island in the South Atlantic that can only be reached by boat. I’m currently making my first feature about a few inhabitants of this island. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I have to been Bulgaria several times before. I have a good friend in London, who’s from Sofia and I’ve had the luck to visit the country on a few occasions. However, I had never had the chance to attend the festival and don’t know much about it.

Lada

/ dir. Dieter Deswarte / Documentary / Russian Federation / 2013 / 18’ 40’/ A movie about an iconic vehicle and a few of its last remaining drivers, “Lada” takes you on a Russian journey. It explores people’s affinity to a vehicle that is stereotypically considered as one of the worst in the world. A humorous and intimate insight told from behind the steering wheel. Dieter Deswarte is an independent documentary filmmaker who graduated in 2010 with a distinction for an MA documentary degree at the Goldsmiths University of London. Since his graduation he has been working on a range of projects, such as directing documentary films for children, working as a freelance editor and director of photography, creating a multi-screen documentary installation and conducting documentary workshops across London. He is experienced at making films with hugely diverse groups of people including children, homeless teenagers and elderly people suffering from dementia. He has worked for the national Belgian television station ʻCanvasʼ and has screened his worked at different festivals and art galleries in Europe. He is a self-shooter and editor who owns his own equipment.

I WOULDN’T EXAGGERATE IF I SAY, I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS SCRIPT FOR QUITE A LONG TIME Dimitar Dimitrov:

Dimitar Dimitrov is an artist with an affinity to improvising. He shot “The Day of the Bleeding Gums” on a smartphone in his free time.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? The minute I read the story written by Elenkov I knew this is to be my new film. I wouldn’t exaggerate if I say, I’ve been waiting for this script for quite a long time. I relate to the story since I’m an artist in my heart, surrounded by lots of people with similar struggles.

Was the moment you created this film more important than its screening? How would you like it to be interpreted by your viewers afterwards? I wouldn’t change a thing about the process of creating this movie; I liked and treasured every step on the way. I would like all viewers to realize that one’s life is a piece of art and it shouldn’t been looked for in a gallery or a book.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director?

What makes you feel successful?

Improvising, one sketch leads to the next, and the following, I kind of let my arm free. Awaiting to be surprised.

The fact that after all the years working in commercial studios, I haven’t lost my inspiration for creating something different.

How long did it take you to make your film?

Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival?

It’s done on a smartphone. It took about five months, only in my free time (which honestly isn’t much).

First time participating in this festival. I have heard only good things about it so far!

The day of the bleeding gums

/ dir. Dimitar Dimitrov / Animation / Bulgaria / 2014 / 5’ 20’/ The painting has a value only in the moment of its creation; the rest is just a postcard from a faraway voyage. Dimitar Dimitrov is born on March 30th 1975 Sofia, Buglaria. He gets his Master degree as an Animation Director at NATFA in 2003, graduating from Professor Donyo Donev’s class. He is recently employed as full time 3D artist in Gameloft, and works for Nova TV (virtual television decors). Along with the above, he makes animated stage sets for theatrical performances, as well as all sorts of digital, and drawn productions as a free-lance artist.

THE APPROACH DEPENDS ON THE DESIRED RESULT

Edmunds Jansons:

Edmunds Jansons ever so experimental, in this film, with his visual idea of the world, induces the spectator into a kingdom of trick and treats. Play is the most important word here.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

the very end the film was open in form, structure, editing. This lasting openness is my specific approach.

The invitation to create this film came from the animated film festival SICAF, in South Korea. This festival in cooperation with the Seoul city government has a special support program for making short films with the particularity that the story has to be somehow related with Seoul and I thought my film would be a nice greeting from Latvia. The chorus is a very appropriate main character. Latvia has a very strong tradition of choral music and it is one of the most significant cultural exports, as well.

How long did it take you to make your film?

How would you describe your artistic approach, in your work as a director? The approach depends on the desired result, so when working on this film I wanted the viewer to receive the joy of play. That was my artistic approach - I played. I played with the image, the coincidences and the rhythm. And one more thing - until

When I agreed to work on this film, I knew that I would have a strict deadline - the festival time, so I had less than half a year´s time. It was a bit stressful. What was your favorite thing to do as a child? RDD - reading, dreaming, drawing. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this festival? What do you know about this festival? Not really, only driving through by bus. Yes, it is my first time at this festival. We found information about the festival on the internet and then we read some good reviews.

Choir Tour

/ dir. Edmunds Jansons / Animation / Latvia / 2012 / 5’/ A world-famous boys’ choir goes on a tour. In the hands of their severe conductor they are an obedient musical instrument. But left alone without supervision, they are just playful children. Edmunds Jansons works as animation film director and graphic designer in his studio Atom Art. His eight animation films have been screened all over the world. Edmunds has graduated Master of Animation in Estonian Academy of Art. Edmunds is recognized and beloved children’s book illustrator.

SOMETIMES IN THIS LIFE ALL WE NEED IS TO JUST BE ABLE TO SHARE OUR PAIN WITH SOMEONE WHO TRULY CARES AND IS WILLING TO LISTEN Fredric Reshew:

Fredrec Reshew lead us through the way of emancipation of his own feelings and intentions about “Rosenberg”, from a simple expat theme to a story about Anti-Semitism, bullying and loss.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director?

The idea for the short film “Rosenberg” was born out of collaboration between my writing/producing partner, JD Glickman and I. As we both lived abroad in a foreign land, we decided to investigate basic elements centered on the “fish out of water” expatriate experience. After examining the initial story concept, I realized there was much more to discover beyond the rather simple expat theme of a man trying to cope with cultural differences while living in a foreign country. As we continued to explore the story we clearly began to recognize that “Rosenberg” would actually provide an opportunity tell an intriguing and important story about Anti-Semitism, bullying and loss. I recognized the significance of executing the story in a way in which the audience would experience his painful and isolated existence but at the same time relish in his journey of self-discovery and rebirth. In the end I hope that this film encourages and inspires those that may have gone through similar experiences to take a risk and reach out to someone they trust and begin their journey “back”. Sometimes in this life all we need is to just be able to share our pain with someone who truly cares and is willing to listen.

I try to approach each idea or script with a sense of wonderment and excitement. Then I go to sleep on it and dream, since most of my dreams take me into areas your conscious mind can’t. This is where I find my answers. How long did it take you to make your film? It took 7 days to shoot and a few months in post-production to put all the elements together. We all had our dreams shattered. How far you would you pursue yours? Having grown up in L.A. and lived half of my life away there I can honestly say I have been on a never ending quest to fulfill my dreams. Life throws you many crossroads and you have to suck it up and do things you don’t want to do to survive sometimes but in the end it’s all worth it. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? No I haven’t had the pleasure of going to Bulgaria but would love to! We heard amazing things about the festival!

Rosenberg

/ dir. Fredric Reshew / Fiction / Sweden / 2013 / 23’ 51’/ As a child prodigy, David Rosenberg played his trumpet at Carnegie Hall but was bullied for being a Jew. 30 years later, he’s lonely, living in a foreign land, alienated from his wife and children. He must now either remain estranged or accept his own identity and talent and move on. Fredric Reshew is an internationally recognized photographer and filmmaker. He’s specifically known for his striking Beauty images and portraiture of famous musicians and celebrities. His images have been published in numerous magazines including The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, Elle, Instyle, Big Magazine, British G.Q. and Arena Hommes Plus to name a few. Some of his subjects include Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Robyn, and bands, Massive Attack, Bloc Party, and Daft Punk. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California and having lived in Paris, Milan, London and NY, Fredric now spends his time between Los Angeles and Stockholm with his wife and two children.

AM NOT BOUND BY THE FILM WORLD CONVENTIONS

Gunilla Leander: I

Gunilla Leander explains vividly about violence, its triggers and reasons. With his visual and sound approach to film he creates a more direct outcome without relying on standard ways of filming.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? I have always been interested in sound (and in film, of course). I was going through a period of thinking about violence, its causes, what triggers it. Thoughts on power, superiority, disadvantage, retribution, fear. I was in an adjacent room when I heard the sound of an Action movie on TV. I stood still and in my mind I saw what happened. In my mind I saw a movie based on the sounds I heard. When I got back to the TV room the film was different. - But then I already had my idea to “Payoff”. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? Since I am a visual artist who works with film, I am not bound by the film world conventions. Therefore, I can get an idea to do a scene without cinematic storytelling, where the visual expressions are based on the sounds you hear. How long did it take you to make your film? A long time, I have worked on it for over 1.5 years. What I thought would be a quick project turned out to be very complicated. The biggest problem

was the sound editing, since this is of such importance in the film. Besides, when you see a fight on film, it is the pictures - and the music - that enhances the experience of violence. A fist or kick to a body sounds really not that much in reality. It has been a challenge to design the sound so that it can create images. If you didn´t have a choice, what sense could you live without? Since I have already lost one of my senses – smell, in a car accident, I says smell. But it has been dangerous for me sometimes. Once I didn’t sense the smell of fire and also an accident in an art school with dangerous fluids. I hope I never lose the other four. Due to the circumstances displayed in your film, do you think, that everyone in such situation is entitled to some retribution? My first thought is of course to say “no”. We should be nice people and turn the other cheek. But this is not the reality. Just look around the world with all the wars and disagreements. There is so much to say about this subject. Since I myself have been thinking why we humans act as we do, I made this film. I want “Payoff” to touch and arouse questions.

PAYOFF

/dir. Gunilla Leander / Experimental / Sweden / 2013 / 5’ 02’/ “I am fascinated how sound can create images in you, and this is my focus and purpose with this film. Without actually seeing, by only hearing, you can with your “inner film screen” see what is happening. Depending on the viewer’s own history, their “inner film screen” will differ, and everyone will get their own film.” Gunilla Leander, visual artist from Sweden, operates in Sweden and internationally with short films, video installations, sound works etc.

Haitham Sulaiman: I

BELIEVE THAT WE COULD GIVE THE VIEWERS CHANCE TO IMAGINE AND FIGURE OUT THINGS WHICH ARE NOT THERE IN THE FILM

Haitham Sulaiman tells us a story of contrasts, regarding the highly ignored Arab woman in society and her sensitiveness towards social issues worldwide.

How long did it take you to make your film? Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? The idea and the generality of the film have inspired me to create it. Watermelon word is a symbol of “rubbish” in the Arab world. The same as Safya the protagonist of the film is ignored and considered to be unimportant and missjudged by her society. But we discover that even though she is mute, deaf and neglected, she has very sensitive feelings towards what is happening in the world – war, poverty and hunger even beyond her local society in a time where Arab societies get used to hear and see these big international cases as something usual. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? I focused more in the soul of the idea of my film. Hiding the protagonist till the beginning of the second half of the film as a link between the ignored Arab woman in her society and her character, taking close shoots to things important in the story of the film and maintain an effective music theme for overall the story.

One full day, from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM as for the shooting. But it took more than a month for preparations. In your opinion do you think the lack of something is an exponential for creativity and imagination? Yes I do. I believe that we could give the viewers chance to imagine and figure out things which are not there in the film. Experimental films give a great deal for this aspect by transferring the mind, feelings and imagination of the viewer from a spot to another without a big need to compete them one by one. Feeding them with a handful spoon could kill their expectations and imagination about the story and the film. You´re a writer and a filmmaker. The main character in this film is mute and deaf. How did you manage to make so appealing without the use of words? I managed that from the beginning of the film when the protagonist comes to the watermelon seller. She was using her body language to tell him which watermelon she wants. Pointing by her finger and moving her head.

Watermelon

/ dir. Haitham Sulaiman / Experimental / Oman / 2014 / 10’ 23’/ Safia is a Mute and Deaf woman who lives alone in her house. She has very sensitive emotions towards what is going in the world in in her Arab Area in specific. She has a strange habit of buying watermelon and imagining the world in this watermelon. Haitham Sulaiman is films and TV scripts writer who wrote many scripts for the national TV of Oman and participated in many workshops for script writing.He is a freelancer and always eager to create wonderful images that carry new ideas.

Ivan Bakrac:

Y OR ST THE TO ED CT CONNE BE TO D I NEE

Ivan Bakrac discloses that behind the storyline of this film lie the words of his friend along with the vision of the director. By being engaged with the story it allows him to demise those preoccupations of his.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? For this particular short film, the inspiration comes from reading a short story written by my friend, and also the leading actor in the film. I found that story very interesting and also very close to me, in some ways. And when we spoke about his story, we agreed that we can experiment with the feelings, as well as with different approaches and medias.

year to finish the film completely. But, of course, we had some long breaks.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director?

What do you consider to be wasteful in life?

I think I’m too young to define my own artistic approach. I’m still exploring. This film is quite different from my previous one. But there is always one same thing - I need to be connected to the story. My artistic approach would be a tendency to make movies about something that bothers me, than it’s easy to find a way how to direct, shoot and edit a story.

As an artist yourself, did you ever encounter a time with your own “personal creativity crisis? Of course, I think that creativity crisis is sometimes necessary for every artist.

When I wrote about wasteful lives of main characters in this film I meant of their own outlook on life. They are depressed; they decided to have a feeling that their life is wasteful. They are weak; they can’t even have a stable relationship. But, of course, there are a lot of things in their lives that are really discouraging. And then we can see how wasteful life can be.

How long did it take you to make your film?

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival?

It took us too long to make this short film because we didn’t have a budget at all. Also, the postproduction took a lot of time because I was doing it mostly on my own, apart from color correction and sound mixing. In general, we spent almost a

Unfortunately, I’ve never been to Bulgaria before. I applied last year with my medium-length film “Wars” but it didn’t pass the pre-selection. So, I’m very happy that I can come this year to your festival because I’ve heard only the best about it.

Our skin is going to gray

/ dir. Ivan Bakrac / Fiction / Serbia / 2014 / 12’ 30’/ In a small apartment located in the concrete blocks of modern Belgrade, two artists are going through the personal creativity crisis in the time of global crisis. Minutes after being intimate, they reveal, through a causal talk, all the waste of their lives, as well as of the fictive lives they create. Ivan Bakrac (1987, Montenegro) graduated from the Faculty of Arts and Design in Belgrade, Serbia with the Master degree in film directing. He has directed many short films and also worked as editor and producer. His films “Speak, so I may see you!”, “A Small, Good Thing” and “Wars” participated in many international film festivals.

Jan-Dirk Bouw:

MY PROTAGONIST CHALLENGED ME Jan-Dirk Bouw try to find the answer of the question: how can two apparently opposite aspects of someone´s life co-exist? A Gay Hooligan’s world is shown in this animation coming from Netherlands to “In The Palace”.

senting this film to your audience?

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? During the research for a documentary about soccer and homosexuality I met my protagonist, a gay hooligan. Hooliganism and homosexuality obviously don’t go together well. Why a gay man would want to be part of such a hostile and unsafe environment like soccer hooliganism is something that outsiders have difficulty understanding. I felt the urgency to explore (t)his paradox. His dilemma inspired me to present myself with the following challenge: how to visualize this hooligan’s vulnerable side in such a way that we feel empathy with him. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? My protagonist inner conflict is my starting point, always. This is the most important aspect for the visual language, rhythm, score and sound design of my film. How long did it take you to make your film? 5 years, from initial research till finalizing the production of my film. Contrasts and paradoxes in today´s society make a good storyline. What is your main focus while pre-

First there is the subject of soccer and homosexuality, within the world of soccer still a taboo. What strikes me is that the combination football/homosexuality remains such a controversial issue. I think it is relevant to put homosexuality and football on the agenda with this film. Another fascinating aspect of this tale is the obsession with a passion. My central figure defines his own identity largely as being a hooligan and chooses to ignore the more personal and vulnerable aspects of his emotional life. I find it confronting to see how many people, just like him, give themselves over to a world of appearances, chasing careers, materialism and status. What are you main reasons to experiment? And how did you transfer them to this film? My protagonist challenged me, he was willing to share his story but for reasons of personal safety he wished to remain anonymous at the same time. Animation offered me the solution to alter his appearance and allowed me to give the harsh world of hooliganism a poetic layer as well. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? Strangely I have never been to Bulgaria and this is the first time my production is screened at “In The Palace”. The location makes this film festival one of the most exotic places for seeing great films, meeting inspiring colleagues and pitch new film plans.

I Love Hooligans

/ dir. Jan-Dirk Bouw / Experimental / Netherlands / 2013 / 12’ 28’/ The world of a homosexual hooligan, his sexual orientation is a well-kept secret. The match against the archrival is the highlight of the year, at the end and he has to go home, where no one is waiting. His dream: “To die in the arms of my loved one”. Jan-Dirk (Amsterdam) studied Art & Graphic Design at the HKU (Utrecht, Netherlands) and Communication & Design at the School of Communication and Arts, London. Jan-Dirk directed various short films (independent and commercials) in the UK and the Netherlands. From 2007 he focuses mainly on scenario writing, directing and producing documentaries.

I MIX GENRES AS LIFE ISN’T A SIMPLE COMEDY AND DRAMA

Jean-Julien Collette:

Jean-Julien Collette made a film that really matters to him. Combining genres and techniques, focusing months on the script, his film - Electric Indigo gives us and interesting perspective on the sexuality and unstructured families. Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? After having co-directed and co-written several shorts, I wanted to express on my own what really matters to me. I wanted to explore my favorite themes in greater depth; the sexuality and the unstructured family in a modern and pluralistic society. In this particular case, I wanted to teach how some parents live a selfish life, preventing a child to develop. I’m not particularly excited by what they call “daring movies” nowadays; it’s often about a “ménage à trois” or “homosexuality”, and then critiques talk about taboo… Come on, we live in a more and more complex society where family ties, gender and sexuality are very broad. I think the reality is much more subtle. That’s why I wrote the film I wanted to see, asking myself: what would happen if? How would you describe your artistic approach, in your work as a director? I’m interested in mixing film genres because I think real life is much more than a simple comedy or drama; it’s a combination of all these things at the same time. Also, I wanted to escape from a predictable story line built in a traditional three-act structure. I want the actions of my characters being unpredictable, but logical and credible within the inner world of my story. The same applies for the cinematography. I wanted to escape from the predictable (large static shots for comedies, close shots for drama), so the style I developed here is a mix between the colorful aesthetic of Pedro Almodóvar, but shot in a naturalistic way with a hand-held camera style, like in the films of Alejandro Iñárritu or the Dardenne Brothers.

fine-tuned, then you’re screwed. Then it took me two months of full time preparation (technical details, localizations, rehearsing…), ten days of shooting and two months of postproduction that I did rush in one block, because I don’t like to wait for months before to get into the editing. Have you ever felt ostracized by others? Every teenager at one point has felt ostracized, so yes, I’ve felt that way. However, I always liked to be the outsider. That’s what motivates me. Winners or heroes are boring; I always had a preference for the second best, the one in the hero’s shade, the guy/girl with the qualities and the flaws. It’s much more glamorous to me. How would you describe your perfect coming of age? It’s a tricky question, but I would say that it’s like in the Cameron Crowe’s film, “ALMOST FAMOUS; it’s about the loss of innocence. The coming of age is more than often linked to the teenage years, but it’s not always true. I’m still learning big lessons in life. I still hope I have a bit of naivety left in me. Every time I lose a bit of my innocence about the world, I feel like I’m dying.

How long did it take you to make your film?

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival?

I did write at least 10 drafts of the script and kept on polishing it until the last moment, changing every bit of dialog with the actors. I think script is the key factor for a good film. You’ll always find good actors and technicians, but when a script isn’t

I’ve never been in Bulgaria and I’ve never had a short film selected at the festival. So it’s a first after many attempts. I heard the best about it, as being one of the best short film festivals in the Balkans. It’s just a pity that for personal matters I won’t be able to attend.

Electric Indigo

/dir. Jean-Julien Collette / Fiction / Belgium / 2013 / 24’/ It is sometimes complicated for a little girl to face peer pressure and becoming aware of her own identity, especially that she never knew her mother and that the only reference is the love of two heterosexual fathers united by the bonds of a “non-carnal” marriage. Jean-Julien Collette (Brussels - 1978) is an autodidact Belgian filmmaker based in Madrid. Bitten by the cinema bug at the age of eight, he promised his father that one day he would become a film director. Many years later, he is fulfilling his dream with five short films to his credit totaling up to 400 selections and 90 awards in film festivals (such as Karlovy Vary, Montreal World, Palm Springs Shorts, Clermont Ferrand...). “Electric Indigo” is his first solo work and marks a change of direction towards a hand-held camera style and a colorful aesthetic. In this film, he explores his favorite themes in more depth; the sexuality and the unstructured family in a modern and pluralistic society.He is currently preparing his first long feature, “Rabbits”, a supernatural thriller.

I TRIED TO ACHIEVE ROMANTICIZED CINEMA AS INTIMATE AND POETIC AS A PAINTING Jimmy Hendrickx:

Jimmy Hendrickx arouse topics of social and environmental issues. Led by the new narrative possibilities that the lightweight camera gives, he experiments with styles.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? “Semalu” is my first short movie in which I focus on social and environmental issues. Aspects of “landscapes” are a frequent subject in my work. I strongly believe our physical environment is a strong foundation for our psychological, social and cultural condition. If we simply observe “the way children play” it’s very easy to trace their cultural connection with their habitat. Cheras being under construction, I noticed this youngest generation lost their connection with their environment, their cultural playground. Their parents came from other parts of the country to build a new life near the capital for job opportunities. Urbanization is omnipresent in Malaysia. Swamps transforms into new urban areas. This beloved real estate projects blurred the eyes of the adults taking care of the young ones. They are now forced to find an instant adaptation to their environment under construction, in constant change. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? This movie is completely shot on a DSLR camera. The revolution of shooting cinema with a lightweight camera gives me the ability to travel around and

make movies on the spot. Without crew or production support, it is much more realistic to infiltrate in a social situation without losing cinematic values. This new way of constructing cinema opens new narrative possibilities. “Semalu” is a crossover between cinema and still photography. The way things are framed, the importance of composition, but also the way the actors behave in front of the camera is questioned in this movie. I tried to achieve romanticized cinema as intimate and poetic as a painting. How long did it take you to make your film? The filming was only one week, the post production about two months. What did you learn the most from your own movie? To talk with images, and the hard task to maintain the audience when a movie is more visual than narrative. What kind of contribution are you hoping to achieve as a filmmaker? Making an audience easily adapt to alternative film narration. Create some awareness on social and environmental issues. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? Never been to Bulgaria, I don’t know anything about the festival.

Semalu

/ dir. Jimmy Hendrickx / Documentary / Belgium, Malaysia / 2013 / 19’ 40’/ Semalu, which means sensitive plant in Malay, is a cinematic portrait of the abandoned children of Cheras, a suburb in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A place in a process of modernization. Between a noisy landscape of construction works we see the next generation grow up. 30 years ago this territory was still jungle and swamp. Jimmy Hendrickx (1979, Antwerpen, Belgium). After completing his master in 3D Multimedia, Jimmy focused mainly on the applied aspects of video art. In 2007 Jimmy became a lecturer at KASK School of Arts, where he teaches videoart, film history and mixedmedia techniques. He is a founder of Port Actif (2011) - a Belgian based international institute focusing on Cinema & Video Art.

YOU KNOW S PHOR TA ME OF T SE A ST JU IS TY ALI AS RE

WHAT Kaloyan Paterkov & Val Todorov:

Both directors, Kaloyan Paterkov and Val Todorov, possess a unique vision shared by two. So here it is an interview of one of them. Which one? Find out “In The Palace”.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? The idea for the story was inspired by a dream I had about being in front of a Kafkaesque jury who did not believe my testimony on a very trivial chain of events. Then I combined this with a previous intention we had with my friend and co-director Kaloyan to make a short film about a day in the life of an ordinary young man in Sofia and his relationship with his girlfriend. I decided to make him a photographer and then the inevitable parallels with Antonioni’s “Blowup” (which itself was inspired by Julio Cortazar’s “Las babas del diablo”) started to come into focus. Finally, Roland Barthes’ explorations on photography’s (in)ability to truthfully represent reality in “Camera Lucida” provided the philosophical canvas. I was also interested to deal with the issue of the unreliable narrator who supposedly tell us the story. That’s why I designated the protagonist as “You”, while the interrogator who represents the curious audience is simply called “I”. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? I really like the collaborative approach of Mike Leigh, who is one of my favorite directors. He builds the dialogue and the fine structure of his scripts out of the real life experiences of his actors. I did a similar thing by basing the protagonist’s mannerisms (including his poetry) very much on the actor Ivo Zhelev’s real-life persona. I like to work with friends and turn the film making process into team work. Kaloyan Paterkov, who steps in as a codirector here, was actually the main actor in my previous film “Bulgaria, This Eternal Heresy” – an almost 3 hour long road movie with Utopian philosophical overtones. Ivo Zhelev also comes from that experience. The same is true for Mihail Boevski, who is the cinematographer and coproducer here.

How long did it take you to make your film? This is an independent no-budget project, or a “friends’ affair”, as we like to call it, so it did not take us long to do it. It took me 6 weeks from the initial vague idea to the finished script. Then we had a couple of weeks for pre-production. The shoot took us 12 days. Then I worked on the montage and post-production for about two months. Again, there is a kind of wonderful creative freedom when you work with a very small team of reliable friends and without outside pressure. In whom or what are you in love with? I really love Wong Kar Wai’s work. Actually, the cinematic look we were looking for in “Contre Jour” is to a great extent inspired by Kar Wai’s “Fallen Angels”. I also love the contemporary French directors Jacques Audiard and Olivier Assayas and the Dutch director Christoffer Boe. In the past, I was inspired by Lars von Trier, Krzysztof Kieslowski and Andrei Tarkovsky. Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I was born in Bulgaria and spent half of my life here. Then I lived for two decades in the USA. Now I’m glad to be back in my homeland. I intentionally did not research this Festival, so I can have a more authentic experience while I attend it. I trust I’ll share it with a lot of fun and film-loving people :-).

Contre Jour

/dir. Kaloyan Paterkov, Val Todorov / Fiction / Bulgaria / 2014 / 27’/ A young photographer is in love with his beautiful girlfriend, an old camera and Roland Barthes. Are his black and white pictures a true representation of reality? Or is it all just an elaborate reconstruction of deceitful montage? Val Todorov is a writer, director, visionary, activist. He finished Physics at Sofia University and MFA program in Film and Media Arts at Temple University, Philadelphia. His science fiction book “Irkalla, the Land of the Dead” was a Bulgarian bestseller. He was a co-founder of Bulgarian Indymedia.org. He is the director of the full-length feature film “Bulgaria, This Eternal Heresy” (2014). Kaloyan Paterkov is a theatre and film actor and director. He acts in the TV serials “Forbidden Love”, “Glass Home”, “Undercover” and TV commercials. He is the main actor in “Bulgaria, This Eternal Heresy” (2014). He is the director of the short films “I Love Cinema” (2011), “Adam, Eve and the Tower of Babel” (2010) and “Queen of Hearts, Queen of Spades and Jack of Clubs” (2015).

Kira Richards Hansen: I

WAS INTERESTED IN EXPLORING THE FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS IN THE EARLY TEENS

Kira Richards Hansen brings us to the life of Alex, a 12 year old tomboy who wants to have full control over her life. We are introduced to the world of anger and struggle when growing up.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

How much do you see yourself in this character portrayed by Alex?

I was interested in exploring the feelings and emotions that takes place in the early teens, when the body starts changing. The experience of new emotions leads to reactions and actions such as anger. And this aggression might just be a way to protect one self. I wanted to create a feeling of what it is like to be young and run around with friends without any grownups around.

I am familiar with Alex’s wish to control what goes on around and within herself. I have never been a tomboy, but I can identify with her struggles and boldness.

How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? The visual style and camerawork plays a big part in the storytelling. Just as the locations that are very important in creating the right atmosphere. How long did it take you to make your film?

How was your own coming of age? I had similar emotions as Alex. She has no tools yet to tackle the new feelings she experiences, as she tries to find her own identity as a girl. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I have never visited Bulgaria. I am so pleased and grateful to be part of the festival.

It took 5 evenings/nights to shoot the film.

Damn Girl

/ dir. Kira Richards Hansen / Fiction / Denmark / 2013 / 14’/ ‘Damn Girl’ is a coming of age story about, Alex, a 12-year old tomboy. She hangs out with a group of only boys, drinks and paints graffiti at night etc. Confronted with an incipient sexuality she fights the changes that are taking place within and around her. Kira Richards Hansen is graduated as Film Director BA (HONS) at The Arts University College at Bournemouth. Cand. Mag. Film Science, The University of Copenhagen, DK - Final research paper: “In-between Art and Film“. She is performance and installation artist, involved in a wide range of theatre and film-productions in London. Founder of Future Shorts DK, curator, organizer and moderator.

FREE TO COME UP AND SAY TION SA VER CON D GOO A FOR UP S AY W AL HI! I’M

Koen Blauwblomme: FEEL

Koen Blauwblommean presents us his first short film before visiting his fist festival as a director. Fantasies are what people would like to see in a film, so here’s a “teaser” for the one he is exploring in Hart/Coeur. Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? Weirdly enough it started with finding a sex toy outside of a bar we were drinking at (you’ll see what it was in the opening scene). It kind of started as joke “Hey we found this, let’s just write a movie around it”. There was never a main idea from the start, it just “happened”, growing organically into the story it is now. Slowly adding scenes, ideas and the themes that interest me: Love, regret, “psychedelica” and so on and so on. In the end it is still my first “real” short film, I’m aware of the many mistakes I made but am still proud of what we created. Ready to keep going and hopefully keep improving as a writer and a director. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? I’ve been disappointed many times with lots of recent cinema; it seems that the “imagination” has left lot of the stories/visual style. As a filmmaker you work in a medium that has an almost unlimited possibility of things you can work with and make people feel; in emotions, through sound and visuals. Why not make use of those things? Why bring the same boring stories again and again in the same boring visual manner when you can try going a bit further, a bit more extreme. A film is in the end presenting a fantasy; people are not waiting to see what they already experience in real life. How long did it take you to make your film? It took us roughly 6 days to film everything with afterwards one extra day for a few more scenes

(almost burned down a studio as you’ll see in the film). Editing took up a good 3 months (and many revisions, the original film was 40 minutes long), counting in the preproduction and writing… we’ve been busy a good year. I’d like to give thanks here to every single person who worked voluntarily the long nights to make this film possible. What´s the single most “Hardcore”/ HART/COEUR thing you´ve ever done in your life? Haha, lots of things I won’t be trusting to printed media, come see me, let’s get a drink and we’ll talk! But I’m gonna keep it at the following anecdote : breaking a rib which ended up rupturing my spleen and then still be on stage for a theatre play only 3 hours after the hospital visit. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? First time in Bulgaria, first time I’ve heard of this festival (got here thanks to Reelport). But it is also the first time ever I got into the festival circuit. At the time of writing I don’t know that much of the country, but from what I’ve looked up it seems a beautiful place and I’m looking forward to get to know both the country and the festival. If you see me around and liked or didn’t like my film, feel free to come up and say hi! I’m always up for a good conversation.

Hart/Coeur

/ dir. Koen Blauwblomme / Fiction / Belgium / 2013 / 21’ 35’/ “Hart/Coeur” is a short film that tells the story of two young women spending a night out in the small town of Kortrijk. This night will take them to different places, random conversations, and a confrontation with a man who has a dark secret. The film title “Hart/Coeur” is the word “Heart” in Dutch and French. This short film aims to explore the themes of Love, violence, psychedelica and punk rock. Koen Blauwblomme (6/5/1990 Belgium) Is a writer and director who recently graduated at KASK School of Arts. Starting as an installation artist and musician/sound designer his interests later started to shift to Film a medium where both music, sound and installation could be combined. Even though his oeuvre is still short, already a direction can be found in his films. A direction that is trying to find the balance between narrative film and experimental cinema. Koen is now appearing on the filmfestival scene for the first time ever with Hart/Coeur his first ‘proper’ short film.

I WILL NEVER FORGET THE HORROR: PEOPLE BEING HANGED! Layth Abdulamir:

Being born and raised in a country with an extensive practice of the death penalty, Layth Abdulamir depicts feelings and emotions in an interview with the executioner of Egypt.

How long did it take you to make your film? Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? When I was a child, I witnessed a death penalty with my own eyes. Where we would leave the classroom in Baghdad for singing and dancing and see people being executed. I will never forget the horror: people being hanged! I have been thinking, for years, about how to present the situation of death row executions and reality in a country where the death penalty is applied regularly and with impunity. So, my choice fell on Egypt, because Egypt is a very populous country filled with Arab and African people. They practice the death penalty extensively. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? I chose a very simple implementation of interviews. Because of the extreme conditions of filming, I put the characters facing the camera, and tried to provoke both direct and brutal questions. To me simplicity is essential to focus on their purpose and the form must be erased before the content of the testimony in order to preserve the strength and emotion, because for me the cinematographic language is essential in a documentary.

The idea of filming the executioner of Egypt appeared in 2006. I changed producers three times because it was terribly difficult to find a French one who would accept my project. They said that Europe didn´t practice the death penalty and therefore there was no need for this type of movie! In your opinion, does the death penalty work as a deterrent for those already in prison to prevent murder? I am a resolute opponent of the death penalty, I strongly condemn it. That is why I decided to make this film despite all the difficulties. There´s no argument in favor of the death penalty... The death penalty is not a deterrent: in states where it is applied, it does not cause a decrease in crime. In the same way its abolition does not cause an increase in criminality. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? Unfortunately I’ve never been to Bulgaria. I have a lot of admiration for this country, its history and its culture. This is the first time I participate in your festival and it makes me a great honor and pleasure.

The executioner’s tear

/ dir. Layth Abdulamir / Documentary / France / 2013 / 26’ 13’/ Death penalty persists in some countries. Ashmawi, the Egypt’s executioner is convinced of being God’s hand on earth. He is a careful professional of legal murder. The condemned one, meanwhile, testify to their pain and to the unbearable wait for death. Layth Abdulamir, born in Iraq in 1957, escaped the Saddam Hussein regime and lives today in France. He has a degree in Art and Cinema from Paris and Kiev universities. He worked for the channel Dubai TV from 1999 to 2004. He also directed several documentaries and in particular “Iraq, song of the missing men” which received an award in 2005 in the Egyptian festival: Hossam Ali, Documentaries Film Festival.

Leonor Teles:

CES

CHOI N OW Y M VE HA TO DOM FREE THE VE I HA Leonor Teles speaks about her own heritage and the importance to show what was, what is and what will be within the gypsy community while pursuing her own ancestry.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

What did you discover about yourself and your heritage after the completion of your documentary?

My own experience. I’m half gypsy and that was the reason to begin this film and serve this “demand”. It is related to a large part of my life and my family.

I discovered that things could be very different for me if my grandmother didn’t make certain choices and if she didn’t raised my father as the person he was. I was able to study and I still study and I have the freedom to have my own choices.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? I don’t know... To make a film I think I must to have something to say. If I don’t, I won’t make it just for that sake. I need to talk about that thing, whatever it was, not just want. It has to be a necessity for me, as a director. In this particular case, with “Rhoma Acans”, this theme and these questions were truly an urgency for me to talk about them. I had them for years. I still have them. So far my films begin with me; I think that was my artistic approach if we can say that. How long did it take you to make your film? About five/six months.

How important, do you find, is the pursuit of our lineage and family history and heritage? For me was very important, but I think that was because my family history is so peculiar and my heritage as well. So, get to know my gypsy ancestors, theirs stories and their lives, was really a big thing because they had a direct impact in my life. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? No, I never went to Bulgaria before. This is the first I’m running to the In The Palace Festival. I know it takes place in a beautiful city by the sea and inside a palace.

Gypsy eyes / Rhoma Acans

/ dir. Leonor Teles / Documentary / Portugal / 2012 / 14’/ “Rhoma Acans” is a journey of self-discovery undertaken by the director to understand the true identity of her Gypsy heritage – from the history of his own family to the way it moves away or approaches the story of a young gypsy inside the tradition. Leonor Teles was born in Vila Franca de Xira (Portugal), the April 28, 1992, in a family with roots in the local Gypsy community. She graduated in Cinema at Lisbon National Film School, in 2013. During her academic career, she specialized in the areas of Cinematography and Directing. Her first shortfilm, “Gypsy eyes” (Rhoma Acans), was present in several national and international festivals and was awarded with “Take One” Award at Festival Curtas Vila do Conde 2013 and an Honorable Mention at Festival IndieLisboa’13. Currently, Leonor works mainly in documentary projects.

Lili Krasteva:

MY FILMS ARE VERY REALISTIC

Lili Krasteva and “Ani’s World” have a lot in common. The story behind the short we will see “In the palace” is hers, mixed with some fiction.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? The film is partly based on my own life experience. I did have a confrontation with my family because of my homosexuality, but I was never in a women shelter. With this film I wanted to assimilate my own life experience, but I also wanted to show other young women, that it is possible and important, to live your life the way you want to and stand up for your rights as a human being. And, that there is more than just one definition of family. How do you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? My films are very realistic. My stories are based on my own life or the other real people experiences. I´m interested in their fates and I want to make the audience think, to ask questions or even to argue on social topics. My main focus is on women and homosexuality. I use the film as art to give my own philosophy of life a platform. And I am of the opinion that the content and format must match, that’s why my films are 16mm films.

How long did it take to make your film? This film has a long history. I first wrote a screenplay in 2010. Originally I planed it to be 40 min. long but I didn´t get the money I needed, so I had to wait and shorten up my screenplay. We shot 5 days in 2013 and the post production took one year. Have you ever experienced such difficulties in life, as you expressed in ”Ani´s World“? Yes, I have. I had a violent father, who had real alcohol problems. And my mother thought, and maybe she still does, that I´m ill and I have to be cured from my homosexuality. I have broken off contact with my family and have built up a life in Germany, where I can be who I’ve always been. Is this your first running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I was born and grew up in Sofia. I went to Germany in 2002, where I live and work since then. No, it is not. I ran with another short film in 2011 with the film Truth. I know that it is a popular and an interesting Festival for international audiences and filmmakers.

Ani’s World

/ dir. Lili Krasteva / Fiction / Germany / 2014 / 16’00’/ Ani’s family is from Bulgaria and lives in Germany. The father is an alcoholic and prone to violence. Ani flees with her mother from home and ends up in a women shelter. The relationship between Ani and her mother breaks because Ani is a lesbian. A story about violence, family pressures and misunderstandings and possible alternatives. Lili Krasteva was born in 1983 in Sofia, Bulgaria. In 2002, she moved to Germany where she studied Мedia Аrts and Sciences at the University of Konstanz. In 2003 she went to the University of Mainz in the Department of Theatre and Film Arts. From 2009 to 2011 she studied cinematography at the Technical University of Berlin. During this time she began working as a director. Between 2008 and 2013 she made several short films, including “Truth” which ran on In The Palace ISFF in 2011. Lili Krasteva lives and works in Berlin, Germany.

g Is To Communiin Th nt rta po Im st Mo e Th : ra Lucas Ogasawa e Sensations Th But , ea Id An Or ge ssa Me A cate, Not Just u Want To Express And The Emotions Of Whatever Yo Lucas Ogasawara tells us long forgotten truths that the child in each one of us knows best. Important for him is not just to communicate a message or an idea but emotions.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? “A Despedida” (The Departure) was my first fiction movie production and my debut as a director. About the movie itself, the decision to do “A Despedida” was the themes of childhood, space and love, besides that story gave us an impressive possibility to be creative and innovative. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? Dealing with movies, the most important thing is to communicate, not just a message or an idea, but the sensations and the emotions of whatever you want to express. Nowadays, the frames per second can say almost anything, and to do that with passion, we must try new paths to reach the audience in their hearts and minds. The format, the idea, the camera that you are using, the theme that you are approaching, everything must face the same direction: communicate feeling with sounds and images. How long did it take you to make your film? The screenwriting, pre-production and early stage of executive production took about 1 year. After we received the PETROBRAS funding, the production started and the movie was made in 2 months. The post-production (editing, FX and coloring) took about 1 year because everything was made at our little home studio. In the end, we deliver a 35mm printed copy, too.

How would you answer your own question in the synopsis? – “When you are six years old, what do you do if your loved one decides to go away”? Understand and move on. I think life-changing experiences could happen every day to anyone, is just a matter of understanding yourself and keep going with that “new piece of you”. When you are a child, you do that all the time, but you don’t realize because it’s so deep and happens so many times, that becomes your daily life. What did you love the most at 6 years of age? The moon. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I have never been to Bulgaria, but I really want to go there. And yes, it is my first time running for this Festival. We know about the festival because we always try to find short movies that did well in some festivals and In The Palace is one of those Festivals that we are always checking.

The Departure

/ dir. Lucas Ogasawara / Fiction / Brazil / 2013 / 15’ 40’/ Clara is a six-year-old girl who is in love. She grows a peculiar passion for the moon and spends her nights under the moonlight, trying to understand what’s happening before her eyes and in her mind. When you are six years old, what do you do if your loved one decides to go away? Lucas Ogasawara is storyteller graduated in Medialogy at Unicamp – Campinas State University, Brazil. Lucas Ogasawara is an independent producer, director and video editor. In the recent years, he has been working in projects for media companies such as Folha de São Paulo, Vogue Brazil (Condenast) and Globo (Futura). In 2011, Lucas received the PETROBRAS funding to make “The Departure” and in 2013 the movie was welcomed in several local and international film festivals.

Luise Hüsler: TOM

AND JERRY HAS A REAL LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP Luise Hüsler presents a parallel universe for a renowned duo. An animation in a documentary style capture the elderly lives of Thomas and Jeremiah. Or just Tom and Jerry. You remember them, right?

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

The starting point of this project was 7 years ago, in 2007 as I won a prize from canal+ at the scenario competition CITIA in Annecy. The production took very long. At first I planned to make a coproduction with France, which didn’t work out. Finally the film was entirely produced and made in Switzerland. The animation was done by three very talented animators, who were closely part of the whole process and accepted the difficult production situation.

As a child I was a big fan of Tom and Jerry, identifying with the cute little Jerry. Some years ago I looked again at the old Tom and Jerry films, still adoring the animation, the colors, the music. I started analyzing the relationship of the two characters and found out that they function like a couple in a love-hate relationship. They are absolutely co-dependent. I was inspired to imagine how these two characters interact once they have grown old, what kind of relationship they are leading nowadays.

Did you ever get tired of chasing something?

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director?

Like Thomas and Jeremiah, they had a difficult time in their earlier years, to say the least. Did you ever have a tumultuous relationship, at first that progressed into being a good one?

I tell the story from the perspective of a young video journalist from a local TV, looking at Thomas and Jeremiah through her camera. The film we see is the raw (unedited) footage of the interview she made. I took the decision of doing it in this journalistic style to have a clear contrast to the old times/ the old cartoons and to pretend it as if it were real. In terms of animation this was a big challenge. There is nearly no cut at all and the camera position remains the same. In the middle of the film, there is a break and we go back in time. Jeremiah tries to save Thomas who has suffered a heart attack. He makes the journalist put on the music. Jeremiahs movements are now synchronized to the music. He changes the frame format of the frame from 16/9 to the old cinema format of 4/3 by pulling the curtain on both sides of the frame. He tries to tease and hit his friend in order to get him back into the world of the old Cartoons where they couldn’t die. This second part of the film is made with the old technique; each image is drawn by hand, 12 images per second. The first part of the film is done with cutout animation on the computer. How long did it take you to make your film?

I often got tired during the process of chasing this film. Especially because the fundraising took such a long time. It’s very hard to keep the initial flame of the idea alive through a long period of time, and not to start doubting too much. Thankfully I was surrounded by good people, who helped me stick to finish the film.

The relationship I’m having now has a pretty turbulent past. Simon and I met, as we were 8 years old in primary school in 1982. I fell immediately in love with him as this skinny pale blond boy with beautiful blue eyes entered the room, but he didn’t even notice it, even though my secret passion lasted for a long time. As we were teenagers it was his turn to fall in love, but I was not available and so we became very good friends, chatting for hours on the phone, discussing the sense of life and our favorite discussion-subject: sex. We then lost contact until two years ago, both of us came back to live in Zurich, the city we grew up in. And finally we both fell in love simultaneously, we got married and our little daughter Mira was born 6 month ago! I hope to get old next to him like Thomas and Jeremiah, united in deep love and daily quarreling. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? No, I haven’t. But I would love to visit Bulgaria. It’s the first time I’m running for this festival.

From here to immortality

/ dir. Luise Hüsler / Animation / Switzerland / 2013 / 9’ 53’/ Two former cartoon stars, Thomas and Jeremiah – a cat and a mouse – are now leading a quiet life far from the media. Their earlier sadomasochistic relationship has now been replaced by daily disputes. They allow themselves to be interviewed for the first time in many years. Luise Hüsler was born in 1974 in Zurich, Switzerland. In 1996 he attends preparatory course at the ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste). In 2002 he receives degree from the HEAD (Haute École d’Art et de Design), Geneva, cinema department. In the period 2002-2005 he works as assistant in the cinema department of the HEAD. Since 2006 he is a lecturer in camera and editing courses at the HSLU (Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst). Works as film editor and director.

Marianne Blicher:

IMAGINATION IS EVERYTHING! Marianne Blicher is inspired by the everyday drama, which follows us everywhere. Even thought she will miss the fest this year, Marianne uncovers the curtain in this interview.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create, this short film?

In your opinion, how important is it for a child to fantasize in its preparation for adulthood?

I wrote “Belinda Beautiful” together with my good friend and writer Rasmus Birch. We both wanted to make a film about the first feelings about sexuality when you are growing up and exploring your own boundaries.

Imagination is everything! I believe that we, children, “inbetweeners” and grownups, learn to tackle life through our imagination. So, the more imaginary friends that can prepare a child for adulthood the better.

How would you describe your artistic approach, in your work as a director?

Have you ever been secretively in love?

It is the everyday drama. What happens behind closed doors when we are alone, or together, or together alone. It is the fine line between the serious drama and humour that, often unconsciously, captures my interest and that I like to work with when I write and direct. How long did it take you to make your film? It actually took almost 3 years, form idea to premiere.

Of course – many times – haven’t we all? To be in love, when it is returned, is the best feeling in the world! So out of the closet you secret lovers out there! Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? Unfortunately I am unable to visit the festival this year, but I really hope to visit another time, ´cause I have heard so many good things about the festival, the city and Bulgaria, so I definitely have to come another time – hopefully with a new short film.

Belinda Beautiful

/ dir. Marianne Blicher / Fiction / Denmark / 2012 / 23’ 09’/ Belinda Beautiful is a story about a 14 year old girl who risks her only friendship with the younger Frederic in her longing for love and exploration of her own boundaries. Marianne started her career working with theater while furthering her interest for film with a producer degree from the acclaimed film institute in Denmark, Super16. In parallel, Marianne developed her competence and passion for directing and debuted with the short film MALLORCA in 2009. BELINDA BEAUTIFUL is her second award winning short film.

Martin Iliev: I’VE

ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN STORIES ABOUT LONELINESS, ALIENATION AND LOVE

Martin Iliev depicts a story from the near future which comes to awaken our inner sense of human behavior.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

How afraid are you of being stuck in a rut, in a deep unconscious routine?

One night I was in the car of a friend of mine. We were driving and he put a CD in the stereo. Monotonous and boring male voice came through the speakers. The voice began explaining that if I wanted to get rid of stress and tension, I should imagine that I’m a child again, drawing pictures... So I imagined a utopian world, the very near future - a fictional reality and the voice of a man on which depends everything - everyday life, human relationships, intimacy and even sex.

I think that with every day we start noticing less and less things around us. I’m afraid that maybe one day our lives and relationships will become just a mechanical act of actions that probably meant something long time ago. The characters in my film have long ago lost the ability to resist, fighting routine and the “invisible voice” which guides their lives.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director?

As a director I’ve never wanted to sound didactic, like a mentor, giving suggestions, or teaching people how to act or how do approach problems. When I explore certain theme or a problem I want to make people feel and think about their own lives, I want to provoke them.

I guess I’ve always been interested in stories about loneliness, alienation and love. I’m always looking for emotional stories and always want the viewers to be overwhelmed by the emotions that my characters are feeling. I’m always striving for great storytelling and compelling visual style. How long did it take you to make your film? In total I think we worked around six months on the film. The shooting took only one night. It was a great night with one of the greatest crews I’ve ever worked with.

What suggestion or suggestions would you give to couples that are going through the same?

Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I’m a Bulgarian and I’ve been living in Bulgaria ever since. I think it’s my third or fourth time at the festival and I think it’s a great place to be. It’s getting better and better with every year. Last year I won one of the pitching awards at the Filmer Forge event and I hope that this year would be a success, too.

Stereo Love

/ dir. Martin Iliev / Fiction / Bulgaria / 2013 / 9’/ A young couple has lost the spark and sunk into routine. Now their relationship is run by a mechanical voice coming through the stereo. It should rekindle their sex life, but something goes terribly wrong. Martin Iliev graduated as Film and TV Director in 2010 from the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria. He went on working for some of the biggest production companies in Bulgaria such as: “The Chouchkov Brothers”, “SIA Advertising” and “Oldschool Productions”. He had directed a number of commercials, music videos and shorts.

A STRONG RELATIONSHIP CAN MAKE A FILM DEEP AND TRUTHFUL

Matej Bobrik:

Matej Bobrik has a touching story to share inspired by his own experience. Feel the isolation and loneliness of the people living in a nursing home and their little moments of joy.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

What places did you visit already? What are still missing from your list?

The film is about old people that are living in a nursing home deep in the forest, forgotten by their families. Inspiration was my own relation with my grandmother. She lives alone in Slovakia and I live and work in Poland.

There are still a lot of places I haven’t been yet, and probably I will never have the chance to visit. But there is one place where I hope I will go one day. Texas. I have a dream to make a film there.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director?

Describe us the perfect surround for you. The best people for you to have around. My wife. Intelligent, funny and sexy.

For me the most important is to love or hate the people I am making film about. A strong relationship can make a film deep and truthful.

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival?

How long did it take you to make your film? From my first visit of the place till the premiere it took around one year. All the postproduction was more than seven month. The time which I spent with the characters without camera was three month. And the shooting took only ten days.

I hitchhiked through Bulgaria many years ago. But I haven’t been to Balchik. I heard from my colleagues that In The Palace is a very nice festival.

The Visit

/ dir. Matej Bobrik / Documentary / Poland / 2013 / 11’/ In a care home surrounded by magical forest deep in the middle of nowhere, the residents lead quiet, unruffled lives. Only Sundays seem to bring any variety. For Sunday is visiting day. Matej Bobrik was born in 1982 in Prague. Since 2006 he has been studying Film Directing at the Film School in Łódź. His films include: She Said She Loves Me (2007), Akwarium (2008) and Where the Sun Doesn’t Rush (2009).

Mathias & Colas Rifkiss: WE

ARE ALWAYS INSPIRED BY PEOPLE THAT CINEMA OFTEN FORGETS: WORKMEN, POOR MEN, SIMPLE MEN WITH FEW AMBITIONS Mathias and Colas Rifkiss are twins for whom the most important part of filmmaking is scriptwriting. Relying on a good script they present us the “grey heroes” of the day.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? We are always inspired by people that cinema often forgets: workmen, poor men, simple men with few ambitions. Moreover, France is a victim of capitalism and industrial “delocalization” (factory obliged to move up in east low-cost). To finish, sport (especially football) is often associate to a working class who dream and transcend their day through results of their favorite team. We made a movie about all of this... How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? Our aim is always to be closer than reality. Not darker, not lighter, just the truth of the day. Thus, we like to transcend our artistic work when our protagonist dreams higher. For example, in the last football scene of our movie, we would make nicer the job of our characters. That’s how our spectator goes through the same dream such as our characters. How long did it take you to make your film? With writing, financing, shooting and post-production, it took nearly 6 months. The shooting took 10 days... But the most important, according to us, is the writing! Without a good script, it will never be a good movie.

Have you ever challenged yourself that you might have felt you could not meet your own expectations? We don’t know who said that, but we like this quote: “We don’t make the movie that we want, but one that we can”. That’s true. But, for this movie “The Green Dog”, everything was like a dream. Everything was perfect, like we imagined. Our actors were better than we hoped. Technicians, too. And weather, too! We are totally proud of this movie. What makes you laugh? A lot of things. But often when someone doesn’t try to be funny. Just the situation has to be funny. In cinema, we like the real “dumbers”. Stupidity is a great material for comedy. So, we like Judd Appatow, Will Ferrel, South Park (in USA) and Groland Team (in France). But, sincerely, the funniest man in the world is our dad! Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? We have never been to Bulgaria before... But our grand-father and grand-mother gave themselves their first kiss in a youth camp in Bulgaria! We traveled with our movie in Romania, Hungary, Austria, Ukraine and Russia...But Bulgaria? Not yet. But we know this festival because a friend of ours was selected last year (Liova for “Solitude”).

The green dogs

/ dir. Mathias & Colas Rifkiss / Fiction / France / 2012 / 20’/ Two 50-year-old workers keen on football are threatened by the relocation of their factory in Romania. So they resume training with their mythic crew from the 80`s, “The green dogs” and bet their professional future on the result of the match against the managers… Mathias and Colas Rifkiss are twins. To this day, they have directed together four short films. Their films were selected in many festivals throughout Europe. They were also shown on French TV and TV5. Mathias and Colas are currently developping two feature films.

COMPREHENSIBLE STINY DE HER RT FU HIS DEFINE S AP PERH ILL W AT TH DESIRE

D HIS IN Max Ksjonda: IN THE END WE UNDERSTAN

Max Ksjonda creates a film telling quite a personal story about a man torn by contradictions.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? It is a bit personal story for me, a story of a man in search for a better place who shows his power and will in a situation and is ready to give up in another. This is the reason why both the main character and the story itself have been created multi-faceted and cannot be described in one line. In the beginning of the film we think that the main character aspires after one thing, in the middle of the story he wants another goal and in the end we understand his incomprehensible desire that will perhaps define his further destiny. I had the following scene in my head: the boy is travelling using a dangerous, unusual and new method. And this image served as an incentive for the story development while the highlights got shifted from a social drama to a fiction genre. I hoped that the elements of a road movie used in such an unconventional way would allow seeing the main character and his deeds from a new point of view. I was impressed by the characters and the picture, obscure images of some details in the story whose mysteriousness and excitement were telling about the character and the two different worlds that were connected by his journey. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? I try to do it in a manner that what I am shooting seems to be true and looks like a documentary or a newsreel.

How long did it take you to make your film? Total time of working on the film lasted for about 9 months from pre-production and nature searching, ending with the last shooting day, which stood apart because of financial difficulties and was pushed from all the shooting days for 3 months, and up to editing and sound post-production. Did you have a mentor, tutor or an ideal figure of someone in whom you truly look up to? I would not want to be like someone. I like many directors. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I was in Bulgaria, on the coast. At this particular festival it´s my first time.

The way

/ dir. Max Ksjonda / Fiction / Ukraine / 2012 / 21’ 06’/ This is a story of a teenage boy who is neglected by his divorced parents. During one dangerous transfer from one parent to the other, he meets a person who seems to embody the boy’s ideal father-figure. This dangerous travel sheds a new light on the young boys’ life and sets him up for a different future. A small person starts to discover the big world. Max Ksjonda: 1995-2000: Donetsk State Technical University. Master in “Systems of quality”. During these 5 years was playing in KVN (Club of Cheerful and Resourceful People) and writing the texts for the games; 2005-2009: Cinema faculty of Kiev national university of theatre, cinema and television named after I. K. Karpenko-Kary. Speciality: “Director of fiction film”; 2003-2009 – Copyrighter, later - Art director in advertising agency “BITA Advertising”; Since 2003 - Director of commercials; Since 2009 – Free-lance director

Max Weissberg:

MUSIC INSPIRES ME WHILE WRITING

Max Weissberg shares his passion for Russian culture, as a cineaste and as an individual. Though he fought some battles while growing up he overcame and it gave him the right tools to create and inspire.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

Have you ever been oppressed or ostracized for some reason?

I’ve also been fascinated by the gulag and am surprised there are so few films in the U.S. about the gulag experience. Many years ago I spent a year in St. Petersburg, Russia and became intimate with the Russian language and fell in love with Russian history.

When I was 12 years old I lived in a small town in the USA and was attacked relentlessly for being Jewish, not unlike the hero of “KARAGANDA”.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? I am inspired by music while writing. As a director, I feel it’s important to give the actors their space and not speak more than necessary.

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I have never been to Bulgaria but my sister-in-law lives there (along with her husband). I heard about this festival via reelport and I’m glad I found it.

How long did it take you to make your film? This film took 1 year and was part of the MFA program at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.

Karaganda

/ dir. Max Weissberg / Fiction / USA / 2013 / 25’ 57’/ Vladimir and Aleksei are prisoners in a 1950s Soviet prison camp. They are friends, work together and even end up saving each other’s lives. But Vladimir’s wife is also behind bars in a women’s camp and he has to attract the attention of the Vory v Zakonye, or Thieves-in-Law, in order to find her. Max Weissberg graduated Reed College in 2004. He co-produced and appeared in a feature documentary called “Hotel Gramercy Park” that earned a jury citation at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. Max’s directing work has screened at SXSW, Anthology Archives, the Bel-Air Film Festival, Ovation TV, and he recently won an award for his feature film “Summertime” at 2013 First Time Fest. Max is a directing graduate of the American Film Institute Conservatory.

FRIENDSHIPS ARE NEARLY LIKE SEX THE UT HO IT W ST JU , VE LO OF ION AT AR CL A DE

Mees Peijnenburg: SOME

Mees Peijnenburg is unafraid to enter the kingdom of loss and document it into a film. Cowboys Janken Ook is inspired by a real story of Mees stepbrother which the team felt urge to tell.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? The scriptwriter Merinde Verbeek, producer Layla Meijman and me discussed a lot story we would like to graduate from the Netherlands Film Academy. We talked about our own fears, about friendship and about the feeling of losing the people you love the most. Inspired by an accident where my stepbrother was hit into a coma when he was 18-years old, slowly Cowboys Janken Ook began to develop into a story. We all felt a big urge to tell it. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? Difficult question! I like to experiment with narrative forms of storytelling. Always with a distinct visual approach.

school, a lot of space and time to experiment. For example during the casting of the film we found some great young actors, Ko Zandvliet and Jonas Smulders. And with a small crew we went on a road trip to the south of France. We didn’t have a full script yet but we knew that in the film there was going to be a holiday sequence were the 2 youngsters had the world at their feet with the feeling that nobody could beat them. This was an amazing trip. 3 days of shooting, 2 days of travelling and a lot of fun together. How would you describe the perfect friendship? The perfect friendship, pffff.. Difficult. In my opinion some friendships are nearly like a declaration of love, just without the sex. Together you explore and conquer the world, however rough it may get. That’s really beautiful. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before?

How long did it take you to make your film? It took around 8 months. Since it’s a graduation film there is a lot of time during the last year at film

I have never been to Bulgaria. I’m looking forward to it!!

Even Cowboys Get to Cry

/dir. Mees Peijnenburg / Fiction / Netherlands / 2013 / 20’ 04’/ Sven (18) and Gijs (18) are one another’s best friends. When the two of them end up in a fight on a night out with a couple of guys in Amsterdam, Gijs gets beaten into a coma. Sven struggles with feelings of guilt and the fear of losing his best friend forever. When Gijs comes out of his coma, Sven wants nothing more than everything to be the same again as soon as possible. But Gijs has changed. ‘Even Cowboys Get To Cry’, a film about friendship, guilt and violence. Mees Peijnenburg (1989) was born and raised in Amsterdam. From the moment he began high school he was making short films, skate videos, and documentaries. After completing high school he studied at a Danish film school and one year later got accepted to the Netherlands Film Academy. His creative style experiments with different narrative forms, in which his distinct visual style is a constant.

Metin Vatansever: I

DREAM ABOUT DIRECTING A FEATURE ANIMATED FILM ONE DAY

Metin Vatansever gives a face to the faceless. The young student tells us a story of Metin out loud in his short animation Condemn to a Cry.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

What are your future plans as a student and as a filmmaker?

I always have something to say and saying it loudly has always been an intense need, in any ways that life let us. Around this basic motive I made a short film that tells a story about a handful of nobody that many of us don’t bother to look at.

I will try to make stories, as many as possible, if I may. Also I dream about directing a feature animated film if I ever get a chance.

How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? I tried to make Condemn to a Cry as realistic as possible. I touched upon common headaches which have a value of requirement to speak out through the film. And visualized it with the same calm, slow (as a matter of perspective) and heavy peculiarities of storytelling, the way of a human being, culture, my land and the film itself.

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? Yes, I’ve been there for a couple of times. I didn’t notice “In the Palace” before. But I think it is very helpful for art and for young filmmakers.

How long did it take you to make your film? I guess it took me 6 months.

Condemn to a Cry

/ dir. Metin Vatansever / Animation / Turkey / 2013 / 7’ 10’/ Rasim is a middle age man who is stuck with daily life in a small village. One day he beats Salih who make him fell more desperately and finds himself in the middle of the Muharrem’s (Salih’s son) shouts. After that he breaks his silence secretly. Metin Vatansever was born in 1990 in İzmir. He has started his university education in Anadolu University Faculty of Fine Arts, Аnimation department in 2008. He is still studying in the same faculty.

AIM IS TO DESCRIBE FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS USING NO CLICHeÉ

Michele Vannucci: MY

Michele Vanucci, a born enthusiast of life, explains this thrilling voyage in a loving and familiar way. His “Born to run”is on the road movie, exploring the journey of a father and his son.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? I grew up in the countryside. Sometimes, on Sunday, a bunch of people dressed in black would cross our road on their bikes. A friend of mine often waved at me, sitting in the seat behind his father. I’ve always had a great desire to know them, an innate curiosity for a world far away from me. I love to tell stories in which the family order is overturned from reality. During the script, the idea of telling a story about the sweet bond that links the protagonist to his father seemed like a good key to explore the biker’s world. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? My aim is to describe family relationships using no cliché. To do this, you need to find reality at the bottom of your heart and then start to make situations happen in front of the camera. And finally, you just need to film them.

the editing of the film. Born to Run is the graduation of more than twenty people with whom I lived for three years, every day of my life. Some are born to walk, some are born to run. What do you find the most important, the destination or the journey? Born to run is an on the road movie and, as in every movie of this genre, the journey is at the heart of the story. Father and son haven’t got any specific destination; they just want to escape from their loneliness. The journey is a trick with which you can escape from your responsibilities. Nobody is born to walk, but life often makes you ramble on and on.

How long did it take you to make your film?

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival?

This is my diploma as a director at the Italian National Film School. The last year of studies at this school is dedicated to the writing, the shooting and

It’s the first time that I heard about IN THE PALACE FILM FESTIVAL and it excites me so much! I really hope that I could come to visit Bulgaria and your film festival!

Born to Run

/ dir. Michele Vannucci / Fiction / Italy / 2012 / 22’/ Father and son riding their Harleys on their last trip together. For Alessandro it’s time to make a choice between his father and his girlfriend. You can’t love two different people in the same way even if only one of them isn’t enough. If you are born to run, you can’t go back. Michele Vannucci was born in Rome in 1987. He graduated in film direction at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome. Born to run is his diploma work.

Naji Ismail: All

THE EGYPTION YOUTH IS PART OF THE REVOLUTION

Naji Ismail procures to speak for those who can´t. The director also craves for realistic moments and he´s willing to fight, camera in hand, injustice, social, political and otherwise.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

Where were you and did you do during the Egyptian Revolution?

What pushed me to do this film was to express the working poor people who do not find their own voices.

I, like all Egyptian youth, am engaged in revolutionary waves against repressive power and call for justice, also the film was shot a few meters away from Tahrir Square, through successive revolutionary waves after January 25th 2011.

How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? In the documentary films I´m always looking for catching the real moment and for this moment I do not care about the art form or technical issues, you must be involved in your character world. How long did it take you to make your film?

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? No, I never been in Bulgaria before so to me it’s a good experience to come to your festival because also it’s my first time I hear about your fantastic festival.

One year.

Om Amira

/ dir. Naji Esmail / Documentary / Egypt / 2013 / 25’/ Om Amira, also known as the “Potatoes Lady” sells homemade fried potatoes sandwiches in a side street, meters away from Tahrir Square where the spark of the Egyptian Revolution started. Her daily struggle starts at night preparing her potatoes to be fried in the early morning. Naji Ismail is a young filmmaker from Upper Egypt, graduated from the High Cinema Institute in 2005 in Film Directing, joined many workshops in writing, producing and documentaries, worked on many short films and wrote two feature films, awarded many prizes on his last work “Hekayet el Thawra” or “The Story of the Revolution”.

I WANT TO TAKE THE VIEWER D TO A JOURNEY IN AN UNKNOWN WORL

Nikolas Juergens:

Nikolas Juergens explains his experience in Cuba, the social and personal aspects of it. With a different way to shot his film, this director expected a documental and realistic outcome.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? I took part in an exchange program between the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne and the Escuela de Cine y Televisión in Cuba. From the very beginning it was clear to me, that I wanted to capture the very specific atmosphere I experienced there, but also the political context of Cuban society. Shooting a coming-of-age story with a twelve year old boy reflects my coming-to-understand story as a filmmaker in Cuba. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? In RES I chose a rather unconventional approach to tell the story. The film begins like a documentary, with almost painfully long observations, showing the “objective truth” of the boy’s reality. As he dives more and more into the adult world, the narration becomes more fragmented, there is music and the camera seems to fly – the world as he knows it dissolves. What emotions would like to see awaken on your viewers while watching your film? I want to take the viewer to a journey in an un-

known world – just like the boy. I don´t want to overwhelm with plot or force an emotional condition on them, in order to bring attention to space and the political field of tension. I hope I created a film, where there is always the chance to the viewer to change between an emotional approach to the story and an intellectual reflection to its context. What is the next step for Nikolas Juergens? I am preparing to shoot my last film in the academy of media arts. I got a very generous funding by the Filmstiftung NRW, which makes it possible to shoot three weeks in the south of France. This time it will be more plot and character driven, though still very atmospheric. The story starts like a bizarre love story and turns into a psycho thriller. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I have been to Sofia for one week at a wedding of a good friend of mine. It was absolutely exceptional, even though it was not the regular sightseeing program. I loved the city and it underlined my general interest for Eastern Europe. It’s the first time running for the In The Palace Festival, which is an honor to me.

RES

/ dir. Nikolas Juergens / Fiction / Cuba, Germany / 2013 / 26’ 35’/ 12 year old Alejandro investigates on his own, trying to find out, where the money comes from, that his older sister brings home to the rather poor cuban family. He discovers a world that changes his life. Nikolas Juergens, born 1982, startet working as an actor for several Film- and Television productions in 2002. At the same time he worked as a camera assistant for german cinema productions. Since 2009 he studies directing and dramaturgy at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne.

CERAMIC TANGO CONTAINS ALL THE INGRIDIENTS THAT ATTRACT ME TO THE PSYCHOLOGICAL GENRE Patricia Chica:

Patricia Chica, with her wits and social warrior spirit, presents us with a thrill-seeking film. Due to her passion of human psychology she intends to provoke your deepest inner self and make you wonder. denial. It examines the mental state of a young man searching for his inner strength and trying to find redemption and resilience within him. Moreover, I always want to work with strong non-conventional characters who are caught in difficult situations and who go through an emotional transformation throughout the film. How long did it take you to make your film? Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? “Ceramic Tango” is a screenplay written by Charles Hall and that I found on a website called inktip.com. As soon as I read it, I felt very compelled to tell the story of this young man who had recently found out he was HIV positive. It reminded me of a friend of mine, one of the actors of my first film, who had died of AIDS. I knew that this story had found me to tell it, in the memory of my friend. I’m hoping that this film will serve as an eye-opener and a discussion trigger to talk about taboo subjects such as virus infection, the sentiment of loss and the will to survive. For that reason, it was important for me that the film ended on a positive note and a sense of hope even though its presents a non-ideal situation. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? As an artist, I’m always interested in exploring thought-provoking themes that deal with the darker side of the human experience. Ceramic Tango contains all the ingredients that attract me to the psychological genre. The story evolves into an intriguing tale of confrontation with one-self and rituals of acceptance and/or

The film was in development for about 6 months before we “greenlighted” it for production. Eight weeks to train the two lead performers so they could learn how to act in this film in a very realistic way. 4 to 5 days of shooting and about 7 months of post-production. The whole process took about a year and a half of my life since I was covering a lot of positions: producer, director, and editor. What does your deepest insanity say? My deepest “(in)sanity” says that you can find the light in total darkness if you are willing to seek for the beauty and poetry in it. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I have never been to Bulgaria before and that’s why I submitted my film to your festival. I’m always curious to discover new places and this is made possible when you are traveling within the international film festival circuit. I’ve heard that you have a very nice sea side and spectacular architecture in Balchik! I’m very honored to be doing my Eastern European Premiere at the 12th International Film Festival In the Palace! Thank you so much for presenting my work in Bulgaria!

Ceramic tango

/ dir. Patricia Chica / Fiction / Canada, El Salvador / 2013 / 9’ 54’/ After a troubled night Riley decides to take a shower. An intruder, Henry, hiding in the shadows, pins him against a wall and taunts him with stories of his previous victims. He allows Riley to call 911 on a cell phone, telling him he’s beyond rescue. Who is the mysterious intruder? And why now? Raised in Montreal, Canada, Patricia Chica is a 30-time award-winning director who specializes in psychological dramas, thrillers and edgy documentaries. Graduated from Concordia University with distinction in Film Production, Patricia has a genuine interest in exploring thought-provoking themes that deal with the darker side of the human experience. Her previous films The Promise (2000), Rockabilly 514 (2008) and Day Before Yesterday (2010) have all won awards in the festival circuit. Ceramic Tango (2013) is her first attempt into the fantasy genre. Patricia is now preparing her first feature film project.

Petros Silvestros:

I MADE THIS FILM AS I SEE CINEMA Petros Silvestros adopts an alternative philosophy regarding the perception of others and oneself in our daily lives. You might not like Mike, but he hopes you will get him and people like him after watching this short.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? I was intrigued to tell a story about an everyday person who suffers so much but in such a quiet and unnoticeable way. Mike is the sort of person we all dislike when we meet but if we were in his head we would be seeing him with very different eyes. I made this film as I see cinema as a strong medium to experience the hidden and suppressed feelings a character has.

How long did it take you to make your film? We shot the film in 2 days but as a whole, from casting to post-production, it took around 6 months. What bores you? People who don’t dare and don’t have any passion for what they are doing. What frightens you?

How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? I use a minimalist narrative style, most of the time discreet and distant so that it allows people to think and reflect rather than get too emotionally involved. Though always blended with mystery and suspense so that the film is still exciting to watch.

I am really scared of heights. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I have never been to Bulgaria before but one of my previous films “The Admirer’’ was in the festival in 2007.

Mike

/ dir. Petros Silvestros / Fiction / UK / 2014 / 07’ 30’/ Mike, a teenager has to do a boring job, to take his little brother Jack to the hairdresser. As Mike is waiting for him in the car he starts to get worried when Jack takes too long to return. Petros Silvestros was born in 1979 and based in the UK, Petros studied film at the London Film School. His films demonstrate a pronounced preference for suspense and have screened at numerous international festivals. His film ”Mike” is the first ever British film to win a Crystal Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlin International Festival.

WE LIKE TO CREATE UNIVERSES WHERE EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE Philippe Lupien & Marie-Helene Viens:

This duo, Philippe Lupien and Marie-Helene Viens, both of these writers and directors attempt to create a childish world with an adult point of view. Imaginative and realistic, at the same time, it brings us to a young adult´s world.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

How was it to work together? Was it your first experience in that regard?

The film was four years in the making, so when we had the idea, we were just getting out of university. We were facing the fact that the time had come for us to become serious adults. The thing is, we are immature… Kind of. We wanted to make a film about what growing up really meant: accept your differences and be who you really are. After that came the idea of a strange world in a faraway memory.

We worked together for a long time as co-writers and coproducers, but it was our first time directing together. It went naturally and really easily. In preproduction, we work on everything together: the storyboard, the production design, the rehearsals… On set, it’s about the same thing. We always talk a lot together before shooting a scene, and then we look upon one another, to make sure we make the best we can.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director?

Did the both of you ever felt like little Bernard as children and/or adults?

As writer and director, we want to make a film that celebrates and challenges small things in our lives, like growing up. For “Bernard The Great”, we wanted to show a strange world where time isn’t clear because we are in a memory of an old man who tell us about a special moment of his childhood. This artistic approach led us to a big range of visual and storytelling possibilities. For us, it was a big playground. We like to create universes where everything is possible. In our films, we like to play with metaphors. It’s a way to expose themes and to let the viewer decide what they want to see in the story.

YES. And we like to say that the film is a metaphor of how we felt as kids, and as young adults. Bernard is the image of the kid that never really disappears in your heart and your head. Most of the people who saw the film relate at some point to the story of Bernard. For us, “Bernard The Great” is also a metaphor of becoming an adult. At some point in your life, you decide that it’s easy and more fun to just do it your own way. Some people realize that very young but for others, it could take years to finally be who they really are.

How long did it take you to make your film?

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival?

We wrote the first version of the script almost 5 years ago. It took us 4 years to finance it. We shot the film in 4 days, after a month and a half of preproduction. Everybody, around 80 technicians and artists, worked for free on this film. We also took almost six months to do the post-production. It’s was an epic project for us!

We’ve never been to Bulgaria, and we hope we can make it to the festival! We never screened a film in this festival either. We are really proud to be part of it because we heard a lot about it in film festivals here, in Quebec. We also heard about it on the internet while we were planning the film career. We are very excited to be screened in the 12th In the Palace!

Bernard the Great

/ dir. Marie-Helene Viens, Philippe Lupien / fiction /Canada / 2013 / 9’ 14’/ It’s Bernard’s birthday, but he’s not happy about it. His parents never accepted him like a child. Bernard doesn’t want to grow up if it means to be like them. So he creates a suit that stops his growth. The day of he reaches 10 years old, Bernard will confront his parents and his whole world. After film studies at the University of Quebec in Montreal, Philippe Lupien directed his first short film “M. Simard’s Halloween” (2009). It travels all around the world and won prices. After Film Production studies at the University of Quebec in Montreal, Marie-Helene Viens produces Philippe second short film “The Devil himself“ (2010), which was selected in many international film festivals. They also collaborate on many other projects. ”Bernard The Great” (2013) is the first short film written and directed by the duo. They are currently writing their first feature and developing other short films.

DIRECTOR, I MIXED THE BELGIAN AND SEXY NK PU THING SOME H IT W YLE ST RY TA MEN DOCU

Pierre Martin: AS

Pierre Martin loves to experiment and combine different styles. His special attitude to punk culture influences his work in a special way.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? I first met this performer as haircutter at the Brussels flea market. A special and really nice guy. Then I did a TV report about the culture through haircut style, passing through different venues, with him haircutting in the tattoo shop. Once, a producer asked me to make a documentary from a picture of someone with a piercing, so I directly thought about him (he’s performer in a rock-noise band, including piercing and tattoo artist). How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? I used to make TV reports made by young people, with an educational purpose. I had a great freedom so I directed social, artistic and political subjects. With this documentary, I didn’t want to tell a story, to have a drama. I wanted more to share something happening! As director, I mixed the Belgian documentary style (close to and “with” the people) with something punk and sexy. Also, I wanted to have an edition inspired by Tarnation of Jonathan “Caouette”, as I collected loads of not-used archives and the punk style of this universe.

How long did it take you to make your film? Quite long and short at the same time. I changed the subject in the middle so, only for this documentary, it took two weeks of shooting and one month of editing. But, in total, one year of production. What is your favorite way to express yourself? Video and music. Tell me some more about your ideals, ideas and idiosyncrasies. Think out of the box! Burn your local church. More than yesterday, less than tomorrow! I like to cross the styles, to make people discover different universes. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I went to Sofia (but I didn’t like it a lot). I went one night with local people playing bagpipes in the middle of a forest. That was very great! This festival is close to the beach, screening short movies.

When the Flesh Becomes Work

/ dir. Pierre Martin / Documentary / Belgium / 2013 / 19’ 06’/ Two-tone portrait of Philippe Sangdor, named Phil. Singer-performer for the group Tattoo noise act, Phil is a multiple character. The placid pace of his everyday life contrasts with his public performances made of tattoos, piercings, costumes or disclosures. From hair to needle, from gardening to beers, Phil rides his steel body as a tireless extrovert. When the flesh become work… Pierre Martin is a Head of Coup2pouce, a youth TV educational program aired on TéléBruxelles and internet (Video production). Working at the Centre Video de Bruxelles (CVB) for European video project (Yeff!, Grundtvig). Cameraman for the documentary “Marhaban“ (Palestine/Westbank, Yelema prod, 2008). Director of video clip (for Bob Verschueren in 2011, Oli-B in 2010) Member of BuzzOnYourLips, concerts and parties production in Brussels (promoter, stage manager).

I :reiwZ miP

Pim Zwier:

YRTEOP HTIW KROW YM ERAPMOC OT

EKIL

I LIKE TO COMPARE MY WORK WITH POETRY A multitude of images are shown and greatly photographed to moreover distinguish poetry and visionary creation of Pim Zwier´s experimental film. This film is meant to attract the beauty behind photography, paying tribute to both man and beast.

How would you describe your culture standards towards animals?

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? The inspiration for the film is the historical photo collection itself on which the film is based. From the first moment that I got to see the photos I was intrigued by the images. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? I like to compare my work with poetry. What´s typical for me in poetry are the carefully chosen words which reduce a theme to its essence, simultaneously creating space for association. I seek, like in poetry, to touch the essence, but not give overall descriptions. To create an impression and allow the recipients to have their own association and interpretation. How long did it take you to make your film? I can’t provide you with an exact time indication, but for several months I worked on a script, project description and grant applications for another film during the daytime and during the evening and at night on editing this film.

Although countless amounts of animal-videos are put and watched on Facebook, YouTube, the distance between humans and the animals we use, e.g. for consumption, is growing. Animals used for human food-production or transport have moved mainly out of sight, and the awareness of the existence of these animals is fading. As an example; recently an experiment in Rotterdam was conducted, in which two pigs were placed in the middle of a residential area. The concept was to feed the two pigs with the food left over from the neighborhood, after the pigs were fully grown, people slaughtered them and provided meat for the same neighborhood. But children started feeding the pigs, giving them names and got emotionally attached to them. Due to this resistance people were growing against the concept of slaughtering the pigs. Would you be able to describe your personal intake on the symbiosis between the two realms? Both animal and human. I believe it is a misconception to think that humans and animals are different; humans - like other mammals are part of the animal kingdom. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I haven’t been to Bulgaria yet, it is the first time I have a film running at “In the Palace” and I would like to get to know the festival.

All what is somehow useful

/ dir. Pim Zwier / Experimental / Germany, Netherlands / 2013 / 7’ 38’/ Months of studies and experiments on animals are reduced to a few images a second, the outcome is tangible or remains mysterious. Seeing is comparing; discovering similarities or differences, seeking for an ideal, gratification of curiosity, optimising utilisation. The film is a work based on the historical glass plate photograph collection ‘Julius Kühn’ of the Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Pim Zwier obtained his MFA at the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam. He makes short films and installations. Besides being a visual artist / film maker he curated several film programmes for Filmbank and the Starting from Scratch Festival.

THREW OUT THE RULES D AN S FILM T SHOR DIE IN Y AR POR TEM OF CON PT CE CON C IFI EC SP , PLE SIM A ED W FOLLO

Radoslav Sharapanov: WE

Radoslav Sharapanov doesn´t refrain on his passion about Asia, Hong Kong in particular. He intended to keep his movie humble but wish to be an ode to cinema.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? The film a narrative piece born out of a documentary idea. When I originally visited that outlying Hong Kong island a few years ago, I was so deeply impressed that I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Imagine a tropical paradise co-existing with one of the most densely populated noisy metropolises of metal and steel. And it’s real. I wanted to do something about it out of love for cinema, Asia and, of course, Asian cinema. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? We threw out the rules of contemporary indie short films and followed a simple, specific concept. “Cinematic” cinema is something beyond superficial effects. I loved how my favorite cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bin described his approach as letting himself be led by the environment and only responding to it, instead of imposing a vision. When you think that such humble approach produces some of the most beautiful films ever made, it’s mind-blowing. What place would you like to explore and what do you look for especially while visiting a new setting?

I’m fascinated by the contrast between extreme urbanism and idyllic nature. There is beauty in the cold glass buildings and the untouched natural places, because all of that reflects the human experience. The Far East is perfect in both aspects and also very close to me. I’m looking for people’s everyday life, which is an endless well of stories and visions. Tell us a little about interesting acquaintances you´ve met along the way? Our long journey for this project was all about meeting people, most of whom have become friends. We met a young American family that almost on a whim decided to leave the USA and live on the small island and they are very happy and never looked back. We spoke at length with a number of struggling local actors with very different and always fascinating stories. Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I was at the festival once 10 years ago as a team member of one of the films in the 48-hour filmmaking challenge. Or was it 24-hour? Our director Jordan Todorov went on to enjoy great international success as documentarian with “Dad Made Dirty Movies”.

Outlying

/ dir. Radoslav Sharapanov / Fiction / Bulgaria / 2014 / 11’ 04’/ A Hong Kong journalist visits a small island to interview Chow Yun Fat, but instead he explores the beautiful place and makes a stimulating acquaintance. Radoslav Sharapanov is a web developer and occasional filmmaker. Born in 1977.

Rodd Rathjen: I

THINK DEEP DOWN I AM A NOMAD AT HEART AND THAT’S PART OF THE REASON WHY I MAKE FILMS

Rodd Rathjen is interested in conceptual storytelling and gives his best to lead us through a different culture, impressed by the Nomads way of life.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? I travelled around India for a few months a couple of years ago and passed through the region of Ladakh. I fell in love with the landscape and was curious about how the Nomads survive in such a sparse environment. As a filmmaker I’m interested in conceptual storytelling. Although “Tau Seru” is a simple narrative about a boy leaving home, the environment, characters and symbolism provide a subtext for something much bigger. This is the sort of expression that I’m interested in making.

How long did it take you to make your film? We had three weeks of pre-production. We shot for five days. Post-production lasted a couple of months. In the vastness of your life, past, present and future, do you feel more of a nomad or a settler? I think deep down I am a nomad at heart and that’s part of the reason why I make films. I love travelling and engaging with new cultures. I hope this continues and I can keep moving around but one day I will probably settle somewhere, not sure where though. How would you categorize yourself as a human being?

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? Cinematically “Tau Seru” is a very quiet film with no dialogue. I used the proximity of the father and son within scenes to express their relationship and the sheep act as a metaphor for what’s at stake for the son. The impression of the environment, which is immense and isolated, also emphasizes the challenge of escaping. The film is shot with a focus on the growing capacity of the son and even though it is his story I hope there is enough for the audience to experience the father’s emotional point of view as well.

Just as that, a human being. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? Unfortunately I’ve never been to Bulgaria before. I’ve always wanted to go but being in Australia it’s not very close. I hope to visit in the near future! This is the first time running for this festival. I heard about it through friends who have had films screened at the festival before and highly recommended it. I’m very excited to be included in the program!

Small Yellow Field

/ dir. Rodd Rathjen / Fiction / India / 2013 / 08’/ In the vastness of the Himalayas, a young nomad’s curiosity lies beyond the horizon. Rodd Rathjen is an Australian born director raised in Colbinabbin, a small country town in central Victoria. Rodd completed a bachelor of Film and Television with Honours from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2010. His graduating film ‘Thirst’ won best direction at the VCA in 2009 and also earnt him the prestigious Grace Marion Wilson Writers scholarship. Rodd’s Honours film ‘The Stranger’, screened at a number of festivals in Australia and around the world including being apart of MIFF’s accelerator program in 2011. His latest short film ‘Tau Seru’, had its World Premiere at Cannes as part of Critics Week 2013 and took out Best Australian Short at MIFF. Rodd is currently developing his first feature ‘A Handful of Sand’.

for me is not to ewer to vi e th w lo al to but s, de si y an take make their own decision

Rouzie Hassanova: Important

Rouzie Hassanova reveals topics of our contemporary nomad life in her film. At the age of 18 she moved to London and questioned the importance these topics herself.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? “Tree Without a Root” is an adaptation from the short story by the most famous Bulgarian writer Nikolai Haitov. His collection Wild Stories has been published in ten editions in Bulgaria, translated in 28 languages, and has also been included in the UNESCO Historical Collection. Wild Stories is regarded as one of the most successful modern Bulgarian literary works. “Tree Without a Root” tells Gatio’s story: of a retired Bulgarian man who has moved to live with his son in Germany. Unable to adapt to his new life, feeling lonely, rejected and displaced, Gatio has an epiphany when he receives a letter from home. The film reveals how people of certain age feel, questions our sense of belonging, and brings out the clash of ideologies between generations; all very relevant and current topics. We all move around, settle in bigger cities or foreign countries, but part of us remains where we truly belong, where our roots are.

How long did it take you to make your film? A year and a half. “Tree without a Root” started with a nomination at the prestigious Robert Bosch Stiftung Prize, 2012. After which we managed to crowdfund one third of the budget via Sponsume and then shot the movies in December that year. The post production was all in London and it took about 6 months. Have you ever felt lost in an unknown place, rather alone and lonely? Yes, when I moved to London at the age of 18. What is the single most important place for you? A place you call yours, your home. Valchan Dol – the village in the Rodopi Mountains, where I grew up. That will always be my home.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director?

Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival?

I am drawn to stories that have an important message and move people. Important for me is not to take any sides, but to allow the viewer to make their own decision.

Yes this is the first time that one of my films will screen at the Festival. I have heard amazing things about In The Palace.

Tree Without a Root

/ dir. Rouzie Hassanova / Fiction / Bulgaria / 2013 / 14’ 39’/ Synopsys - Adapted from the short story by the famous Bulgarian writer Nikolai Haitov, „Tree Without a Root“ is a modern film, which deals with two of the most current topics of our time – migration and aging. The story follows Gatio Ignatov, a retired man from Bulgaria, who struggles to cope with his escalating feelings of loneliness, rejection and uselessness after being taken to Germany by his son. Until he has an epiphany when he receives a letter from home. Rouzie Hassanova was born 1980 in Kazanlak, Bulgaria, Rouzie attended the city`s renowned High Maths School “Nikola Obreshkov“. This is where she started writing and directing sketches for the annual graduation shows and in 1998, she moved to London to follow a career in film. There she entered the Media Foundation Course at London College of Printing, now called LCC, where her graduation project ”Glashedy” was awarded with Distinction. Rouzie has been working in the film industry for almost fifteen years. Rouzie has directed a number of shorts, a music video and is now in development of her debut feature film ”Radiogram” (aka “Gramophone“).

I KNEW I WANTED TO BECOME A FILM PRODUCER SINCE I WAS 12 YEARS OLD Sabin Dorohoi:

Sabin Dorohoi put an emphasis on social and economic problems in his homeland through children’s emotions and psychology.

How long did it take you to make your film? The preproduction period was about a week, the shooting took 2 days and a half and the editing another week. A total of two weeks and a half for 14 minutes of show (with credits). Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? “Way of the Danube” is a film about the social problem in my country: little children are left at home with grandparents or relatives and the parents work abroad. The children miss a lot their parents. In real life they were even cases of suicides. Being very emotional on this subject, I decided I must do a short film about this social and economic problem in this part of EU. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? I always like to know as much as I could about the way human emotions work. Why humans, individuals and groups, tend to react in a certain way in certain circumstances. I like to study a lot the human psychology from the point of view of a film director – through the lens of a camera.

A child´s longing can only be surpassed by its determination. How far would you go to find something you truly want? I knew I wanted to become a film producer since I was 12 years old. And since then I have pursuit this road no matter the circumstances. I agree that if you wish to accomplish something first of all you have to do what you are obligated to do, and just after that you can do what you really wish to do. Perseverance and determination is the key word in business. And I dare to believe that film is not just art, but is also a business. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I went to Bulgaria only in a short vacation. And so I have also visited Balchik. But it will be the first time attending this Festival. I really look forward to it!

Way of the Danube

/ dir. Sabin Dorohoi / Fiction / Romania / 2013 / 12’ 46’/ A 7 years boy lives with his Grandfather in a small Romanian village by the Danube. His parents are working abroad, in Vienna. The boy left at home misses them a lot. As he is having a special relationship with the river, tries to connect with his parents and embarks on a journey on water. Sabin Dorohoi began working in the film industry ever since he was a student. At first, he worked as cameraman within the National Television and afterwards, he continued his work as a production assistant, second AD, first AD and finally, as a short films director. During all these years, he realized seven short films, most of which were made for the school exams, and these short movies brought him some international awards and nominations. In 2013 he established in the South Western part of Romania the Western Transylvania Studios.

IRAQ I PLAYED FOOTBALL EVERY DAY RTH EA ON N MA ST IE PP HA THE S AY W AL AS W I AND

Sahim Omar Kalifa: IN

Sahim Omar Kalifa explains how important it is to dream. A tale of real passion for football like his own.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

How long did it take you to make your film? It took about 8 months to finish the whole movie.

When I was in Iraq I played football every day and I was always the happiest man on earth. In 2001 I went to Belgium and I didn’t played football anymore. After a while I discovered that I wasn´t as happy as I was supposed to be. Not playing football was the reason for that. So, my love and passion for football made me forget the pains in my life. When you are in love you have less pain. Why? Because when you are in love you will focus only to one problem. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director?

Like in your movie, have you ever been obsessed with something? Yes sure, football was to me everything as I mentioned above. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? Unfortunately, I have never been to Bulgaria. And it is the first time I´ve been selected for this festival.

I had done other movies with kids as main actors and I know exactly how to direct them. And this makes the movie original and interesting.

Baghdad Messi

/ dir. Sahim Omar Kalifa / Fiction / Belgium / 2013 / 15’ 26’/ Iraq, 2009. Little Hamoudi (10) is totally obsessed with football. Just as the rest of the world, he and his friends are eagerly looking forward to the Champions League finale FC Barcelona-Manchester United. The long awaited clash between Messi and Ronaldo. But then Hamoudi’s television breaks down... Sahim Omar Kalifa (born 1980, Iraqi Kurdistan) has a master degree in Art and Design. His film The Land Of The Heroes won the special award for a short film at the Berlinale 2011 and Second Prize in the Muhr Arab Shorts competition 2011.

Sara Kern: IT´S

A VERY PERSONAL FILM, SO THERE IS A LOT OF ME AND MY FAMILY IN IT

Sara Kern responds in a sensitive way to issues such as mortality, love and how personal this film is for her.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

Do you believe a child can fear the consequences when love is the cause?

I was haunted by the thought of how hard (or easy) it is sometimes to show each and other how much we love each other. I wanted to show this through the moment in kid’s life when he is faced with mortality for the first time. The moment when something cracks and childhood is gone...

I think fear of consequences is more of an adult thing.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? The most important thing for me is sensibility. I focus on little things, grimaces, looks, details. When making a film my main focus is working with actors. How long did it take you to make your film? It’s a graduate film. I’ve been working on it through the final year of my studies at the academy of film and television.

How´s your personal relationship with your own family? It’s a very personal film, so there is a lot of me and my family in it. When making personal stuff one can’t select what may come through and can. It’s all there. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I’ve heard of the festival before, but this is the first time I’m participating. I’m glad to be a part of it and would love to come to Bulgaria, but I’m currently living in Australia and don’t see any option of making it to the festival this time. I wish you good fun and good movies and maybe see you some other time.

Maks

/ dir. Sara Kern / Fiction / Slovenia / 2012 / 15’ 29’/ A boy decides to go visit his dying grandma despite his dad’s disapproval. Sara Kern, Born in 1989, a student of Film and TV Directing at AGRFT Ljubljana, Slovenia.

CHARACTER OF “DIEGO” D REPRESENTS MY HOPE FOR HUMANKIN

Sara Seligman: THE

Sara Seligman brings to this film a mixture of reality and make-believe. A story where hope is the main ingredient and violence is the “soup du jour”, Sara shows how good of a “cook” she is.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? “Diego” is a very dear film to me. It’s partly inspired by events that happened close to me, the amount of violence in Mexico and the world is big, and it’s around everyone in different ways. I wanted to explore that but with a “hopeful” outcome. I know the movie itself isn’t hopeful, nor necessarily is the ending, but the character of “Diego” represents my hope for humankind. Hopeful that humanity can make the “right” choice no matter how difficult, hopeful the good nature can be stronger then unfortunate nurture, hopeful that we, as humans, know that kindness and selflessness is much braver than violence. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? As a director, I believe that it’s crucial to give yourself to the story and not the other way around. What I mean by that is that the look, style, shots, acting style, score, every aspect has to serve the story that you are telling and not yourself. Therefore your style and approach has to be flexible and adapt to the story you are telling. I try to have a blank perceptive in mind when reading a script, and I try to let the script tell me how it should be told. The more open minded I am, when reading the script, the more organically I’m able to come up with the style, concept, visual, camera movements, etc. How long did it take you to make your film? I thought of the story about seven years ago. I started writing the script six years ago, sporadically. I would work on it for months and then let it go. I had just finished film school and I felt like I wasn’t ready, just yet, to make this film because it’s so special to me. So I directed two other shorts. Finally in January of 2013 I decided I had to take the leap. I emailed two of the main actors, who are very respected and well known in Mexico; Humberto Busto (Carlos) from “Amores Perros” and Christian Vazquez (Roy) from “Cinco de Mayo”. I decided that if they accepted to be in my short I would have the best opportunity to make it. Luckily they both generously accepted. I was on a hiatus from my day job so I had two months to do the pre-production, it was a little less than I hoped but I had to take advantage of these great actors’ availability and willingness. We had four shooting days, initially I wanted five but our

budget didn’t allow it. After that, post-production took about six months. So to answer more concisely I developed the idea for about 6 years, pre-produced for two months, shot for 4 days and post-production lasted 6 months. 4 –Did you ever have problems fitting in? If so, what did you do surpass that? Yes, I always had problems fitting in. Sometimes still do, but when I was younger it was more difficult. As a child, fitting in, seemed so important and I would try really hard to do so. I would lie and bend over backwards to be accepted, to no avail. Since I didn’t have many friends many of my afternoons involved dancing, books and movies. As I got older, fitting in, became less important, but film and TV were still my favorite pass time and my go-to escape from any problem in real life. I guess film and TV helped me cope while becoming my favorite hobby. The only way I find helpful to surpass my problems to fit in is to not care about fitting in, truly being OK with being different and the people that do accept you the way you are is so much more important in your life. Who is or was your biggest role model growing up? In film, my biggest role model is Sidney Lumet. I read his book before enrolling to film school and I have re-read it several times since. I admire his approach to filmmaking, to directing… and I love his movies. Kathryn Bigelow is also a huge role model of mine. I live her style of directing and as a woman it’s very inspiring to see what she has achieved as a female filmmaker, but even if she wasn’t a woman, her movies, especially “The Hurt Locker”, are just amazing films period. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? Unfortunately I have never been to Bulgaria. This year is my first time submitting to this festival. All I knew is that it’s the biggest festival in Bulgaria and a very influential short film festival in Europe, I only hoped that my short “Diego” would have the honor to be part of it.

Diego

/ dir. Sara Seligman / Fiction / Mexico / 2013 / 15’ 06’/ Diego is growing up in a family that lives day-by-day, where violence is equivalent to manhood. The threat of psychological and physical abuse looms over him every day. Diego is left with a choice: will he follow in his family’s footsteps, or will he risk his life and follow his heart? Sara Seligman was born and raised in Mexico. After graduating from CEFAC (Centro de Formacion Actoral) Sara moved to New York City to attend the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. In 2006 she enrolled the New York Film Academy’s Filmmaking programme. Now, in LA she is back working on her own projects such as her current short film “Diego” and her feature film script “Falcon Lake” as well as freelancing for TV and Film projects.

Savvas Stavrou:

I NEEDED TO EXHIBIT IT Savvas Stavrou, a director unwilling to let his talent go to waste. A man that forbids himself to let go of his passions and rights thus a man of the arts.

How long did it take you to make your film?

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? “DOROTHEA” was conceived at a time of frustration, when I felt the external forces of routine work pulled me away from practicing my craft. It was almost as if I was being unfaithful to filmmaking. It sparked off something inside me. All of a sudden, I didn’t just want to express this frustration - I needed to exhibit it. That and my recent interest in modern dance inspired me to proceed with creating a film that voiced these emotions and combined my new artistic sensibilities. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? Definitely not as subtle as I may think it is! With influences ranging from Terrence Malick to Baz Luhrmann, I feel that I always try to approach a story with an art house sensibility but a major audience viewpoint. My background in visual arts means that I am prone to paying attention to visual imagery a little too much, but I always try to be careful not to ostracize the audience with obscurity and abstraction!

It took me exactly three years to make this film from the first point of inception until its first private screening. I had written the script with a very specific half-built house in mind, so when I returned to that location a year later to discover it was now a finished house, I had to postpone the production until we found something new! The actual production of the film only took two days, but there were two months of pre-production, and another six months until the film was completed. What unsettles you, as a person and a filmmaker? The constant decline in arts funding, and its cultural implications on our society as a whole - not at the moment, but the repercussions it will have in ten and twenty years’ time. What project would you like to see accomplished within the next few years? There is a myriad of projects I am currently developing including a psychological horror film, another musical and even a techno-music infused film about a demented dancer. I do hope one of these comes to fruition over the next year so that I can gain enough support to begin my first feature. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I travelled to the Palace film festival in 2011 with my first short “SONG TO THE SIREN”, and had a phenomenal time. It is one of the best festivals I’ve experienced and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

Dorothea

/ dir. Savvas Stavrou / Fiction / Cyprus / 2013 / 15’/ With a broken car, a camera in hand and a half-built house in the distance, a photographer finds herself facing a deeper and more unsettling part of her desires than she hoped. Savvas Stavrou, born in Cyprus in 1988, has been making films since the age of 12. His short film SONG TO THE SIREN was the first musical to be produced and filmed in Cyprus. He has worked as part of the Development and Production team at Focus Features and is currently working as the assistant to acclaimed director Michael Winterbottom.

I THINK THERE IS A LITTLE “NIKE” AND A LITTLE “MANFRED” IN ALL OF US

Sebastian Jansen:

Sebastian Jensen poses questions and makes us wonder about everyday choices on an aware or unaware fashion. The director states firmly that the best way to work is in a harmonious way.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

behind it. So he or she can get the best out of his talent.

Do you know this feeling: standing at a register in a grocery store, wondering how on earth all the items the customer in front of you is buying fit together? Socks and apples, batteries and chocolate, what does he need them for? The human brain tries to find combinations and matches the goods together in a logical way (well, at least my brain does) - and that is where my thought began. “Registered” is both tragic and a funny movie, dealing with long-forgotten goals and dreams of a young woman and this very special man, who helps her remembering the very same thing.

How long did it take you to make your film?

How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? I think the biggest word to describe my style of working is “harmony”. I want my team and my actors to feel good. Even if there is a scene where an actor has to be angry, sad or whatever. I see no sense in yelling or screaming at an actor behind the camera in order to make him feel ready and prepared for the upcoming “angry scene”. Instead, I try to make him feel as good and confident as possible

From first idea to final export – two years. Would you describe a time where things weren´t going that smoothly in your life? There was a time when I didn’t get the Tamagotchi I wanted so badly. But then I got it. Since then life is awesome. Did you ever been or had a “Nike” and /or a “Manfred” in your life before? I think there is a little “Nike” and a little “Manfred” in all of us. I’m a fan of silence at home, so I guess there’s a bit more “Manfred” in me. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I have never been to Bulgaria before and this is my first time running for this Festival.

Registered

/ dir. Sebastian Jansen / Fiction / Germany / 2013 / 16’/ Nike works at a grocery store which helps her pay for university. However, because of work she does not find the time she actually needs to study. So Nike has to find a way out of this messy situation: she lies to her professor and tells him about a person she has been observing for a couple of months. The Problem is though that Nike realized Manfred just now - standing at her register. Sebastian Jansen was born in 1987 in Lahnstein. After finishing school he followed his dream to work in film industry and therefore went to Cologne for several internships in film production. He started his bachelor degree Time-Based Media at Unviersity of Applied Science in Mainz in 2009. During his time at university he focused on screenwriting, directing and editing. Beside his studies Sebastian worked as an assistant for ZDF, European major broadcaster.

Simon Panay: I THINK IT´S IMPORTANT TO TRANSMIT THE MEMORIES,

ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE RELATED TO THE HISTORY

Simon Panay film talks about the Second World War from a child´s perspective. This, however, is the most vital part of the film, sais the director.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

Did it ever happen to you to be in a room with someone you felt uncomfortable with? If so, how did you deal with it?

“Phoney war” is my first short film. I wanted to talk about World War II, but with the point of view of a child. The film talk as well about culpability of somebody considered as a hero.

Yes, but this short is fictional. The relationship between the Grandfather and the child is not exactly inspired by something I know.

How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director?

Do you prize any possessions from a relative? An object you hold dear.

The film is split in three main parts, with a different artistic approach for each one. I wanted to use a pure direction, to make as most sincere drama as possible. The childhood imagination takes the most important part in the short. We worked with the light and found places in terms of this imagination.

It looks strange but I’m not materialistic. I think it’s important to transmit the memories, especially when they are related to the history. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival?

How long did it take you to make your film? Two years were necessary to write, shoot and finish the film.

I have never been to Bulgaria before. It is my first time for this festival.

Phoney War

/ dir. Simon Panay / Fiction / France / 2014 / 13’ 07’/ As his ill mother is brought to the hospital, young Matis must stay at the house of his grumpy and introvert grandfather. To escape boredom and loneliness, he decides to play with some of his grandfather’s belongings he found: an old gun, and a French Resistance medal. Simon Panay is 20 years old. He grew up in Burgundy, in France, his parents are winemakers. He starts very young to shoot short films with his brother Nicolas, film director also now. He studied Cinema at the school Auguste&Louis Lumière in France. He prepares his own short films or documentary film projects. ”Phoney War” is his first short film of fiction. He shot in 2013 and 2014 two documentary films in Africa.

I AM NOT INTERESTED IN UES ALOG DI VER CLE OR TS IS TW T PLO D TE CA COMPLI

Slava Doytcheva:

Slava Doytcheva tells a tale that comes from within, from her own life. She prefers the unadulterated version than the complicated, and she delivers it exactly as she confesses.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? This is a very personal project inspired by situations that come from my own life. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? My goal is to explore through images stories or situations even that contain at their core a raw emotional truth. I am not interested in complicated plot twists or clever dialogue.

Whenever I shoot, I get up at 4am :) How much heart did you put on in this film? Do you care to share how important, and in what way, this film is to you? I think the film should speak for itself.

How long did it take you to make your film? From conception to final completion - about a year.

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival?

Do you have a quirkiness or ritual that may frighten other people? Something mundane to you, but weird for others perhaps.

As a Bulgarian, I am quite familiar with this festival. My previous film has participated and I have also taken part in the Filmer Forge Pitching sessions.

Heart of Lead

/ dir. Slava Doytcheva / Fiction / Bulgaria, UK / 2014 / 21’ 06’/ Heart of Lead is a poetic piece structured around an ancient Turkish ritual for extracting fear from frightened people. As the rhythmical actions of the ritual are performed three distinct stories unfold one by one. At 16 Slava discovered filmmaking almost by accident playing Rasha in the Bulgarian feature Christmas Tree Upside Down (Karlovy Vary Jury Prize 2006). Her next part in Crayfish (2009) brought her a Best Supporting Actress Award by the Bulgarian Film Academy just as she was graduating cum laude in Management at Bocconi University, Milan. Around that point Slava finally decided that what she wanted was to tell her own stories from behind the camera. ! ! During her MA at the London Film School, Slava wrote and directed four shorts - Whiteness (2011), Danny’s Death (2011), Happy Birthday Mom (2012) and Heart of Lead (2014). Her stories deal with the complexity of parent-child relationships, migrant life at home and away, and the decisions that lie behind inaction. At this moment Slava is developing another short for the National Film Center in Bulgaria and writing her first feature. !

Sylvia Schwenk:

I NEVER USE ACTORS, ONLY EVERYDAY PEOPLE Sylvia Schwenk invites us and explains a little bit of the story about the Navy, its culture and role in society. The traditional aspects of this community often is left unexplained, but not anymore.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? I was invited to create a new work of art as part of the centenary of the Royal Australian Navy, and shot this film while I was an artist-in-residence at HMAS Penguin Naval Base, Sydney, Australia. I wanted to create a film that told stories about the people in the Navy – about them as individuals – not just as Naval personnel responsible for the Naval Defence of Australia. It was difficult to break through the Defence persona, which is such a dominant and inherent part of all naval personnel. Ultimately, the film uses tattoos as a bridge, a shared cultural and sociological value, to gain access to what lies beneath the naval personality. Tattoos are an important part of contemporary Australian culture from celebrities to sports stars to the everyday wo/man wearing tattoos. The popularity of tattoos both outside and within the Navy is a strong point of connection with the civilian and naval community. The intrigue of a Naval Novella is the combination of naval life and ritual set against individual personal stories about tattoos. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director? My practice looks at the relationship between performance and the everyday, reflecting upon the signifi-

cance and beauty of commonplace activities and spaces. My approach is to present a segment of life, a part of one person’s everyday life or activities to people who live in different ways and places. I also like to show the known in an interesting way that breaks down barriers and allows people to gain access to someone else’s reality or perspective. I don’t work with actors. I work with everyday people and everyday life. I am very organic in my work and embrace the opportunities or problems that present themselves while I create my films. How long did it take you to make your film? There is about five days of filming in the final film and one to two weeks of editing. How important is it to you for people maintain these kinds of tradition? Tradition and ritual are an important and interesting part of life. Tradition and ritual are from our past; they are part of our present; and will inform and shape our future. What other traditions, Australian ones, that you like to be salvaged from old times or that you would like to keep and are disappearing? I like how traditional and ritual change over time, or sometimes stay the same. I don’t want to change any of it. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? This will be my first time in Bulgaria and the first time I have taken part in this Festival. I am very excited to be a part of the event.

Naval Novella

/ dir. Sylvia Schwenk / Documentary / Australia / 2013 / 10’ 25’/ “Naval Novella” demystifies the Navy and shows its human side, allowing people to access a closed culture in an inviting way.

Sylvia Schwenk’s practice looks at the relationship between performance and the everyday, reflecting upon the significance and beauty of commonplace activities and spaces. Sylvia is an artist of international standing who performs and exhibits her work in Europe, the USA, India and Australia; she is the recipient of numerous commissions, awards, grants, artist-residencies and scholarships; and her works are held in numerous public and private collections, including a recent acquisition by Stanford University, USA. Sylvia was awarded a PhD by the University of Sydney and presents conference papers and lectures about her research and artistic practice internationally.

Sze Yan Man:

AGIC M AS E IV CT EFFE BE D UL CO Y” SORR “I’M

Sze Yan Man uses magic as a metaphor to repair relationships. She believes in the magical power of the the words “I´m sorry”.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

How long did it take you to make your film? I spent around 4 months to finish my film.

Sometimes we have disputes with family or friends. When the relationship worsens, a gap would be brought. If you do not cure it, then, the gap will get bigger. Anyone can remedy it actively even by just saying ‘I’m sorry’, it will be effective as magic. How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director?

Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I haven’t been to Bulgaria before. It is my first time running for this Festival. I know about this Festival through the Reelport.

I focus on settings and props design since I want to build a strange place. I collected the old Hong Kong style reference.

Closer

/ dir. Sze Yan Man / Fiction / China / 2013 / 13’ 21’/ A salesman in an abandoned warehouse accidentally discovered a diary, which documented the protagonist (Lam Hoi Sze) an adventure. She, living in single-parent families and having a poor relationship with her mother, is notified that a sewist has magic can mend relationship between people. So she goes to the tailor shop and therefore knows a secret. Sze Yan Man: I have just graduated at Hong Kong Baptist University Academy of Film and occupied an art director in film and student production. I also make some short films (”Son,it’s meal time!”, ”Closer”) and participate in video competition.

THE VIEWER CREATES HIS OWN STORY AND PLOT Tjepke Zijlstra:

Tjepke Zijlstra explores the origins and specificities of redheads. What brings them closer or set them apart. Is there something special about them?

How would you describe your artistic approach in your work as a director?

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? I have two copies of a recessive gene, which causes a mutation in the MC1R protein. This gives me the least common natural hair color, red. I have noticed that my red hair is fading with age, starting a faded copper turned now to a rosy-blonde color. But what if redheads aren’t red anymore? Do they lose a part of their identity? Are they still seen as pure and unique? And how to define the color red anyway? I researched redheads in a historical and social context. They turned out to be unique and really stand out in a crowd. And their hair covered the spectrum of red - from deep burgundy through burnt orange to bright copper with a fair skin, light eyes and freckles. I wanted to document the authenticity of these redheads and explore the identity and beauty of various characters. The only thing the characters seemed to have in common was red hair, but it turned out to be a lot more, with their own personal issues and dreams.

‘Luim MC1R’ had a completely different design process to regular filmmaking. After the first ideas and mood boards were created, we started shooting some redhead characters. And we had already created an audio guide for the sound design.In the edit room we came to the conclusion that we lacked certain characters, specific underlying narratives and relationships. We organized more shootings and editing sessions until we had enough material to complete the film. In the beginning the process was very thorough. What is the best structure for this film? How to introduce the characters and how to end? But during the last shootings we exactly knew what the film needed. How long did it take you to make your film? The whole process took about four months spread over a year. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I have never had the pleasure to visit Bulgaria and “Luim MC1R” is our first movie running in your festival. We really like the festival aim: to present contemporary film art. And Balchik looks great!

Luim MC1R

/ dir. Tjepke Zijlstra / Experimental / Netherlands / 2013 / 5’ 08’/ Ranging in colour from deep burgundy through burnt orange to bright copper. Fair skin, light eyes, freckles and sensitivity to the sun. Pure, unique and proud. Sensual, fiery but unattainable. Vulnerable, mysterious and exceptional. Both ridicule and admiration in response to a mutated gene. Tjepke Zijlstra is a director for film, theatre and music. He is born and raised in the northern part of The Netherlands in the province Friesland that is known by its culture, typical landscapes and the Frisian language.

Valentin Potier & Frederic Potier:

THIS PROJECT REALLY SEDUCED US Both Valentin and Frederic Potier encountered a path to a visual and imaginative vision of life. Though it might have presented a few challenges along the way they pursued on and delivered a more than satisfying, believable and beautiful film.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? This film was born with the meeting of production company SOLAB Pictures who wanted to adapt a script from Leonie de Rudder: “La Diva et le divin”. We were immediately seduced by this surrealistic idea. We started the writing phase and really quickly decided we wanted to show our main character inside his mother´s belly floating in the amniotic fluid and doing so with a realistic approach.

We also had a close collaboration with the artists and musicians about the music which is very present in the film. All of these artistic choices and experimentations of this universe were very interesting and implied a big creative and research work.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director?

It took about 2 years with the writing and directing to create 216 Months.

The artistic work behind this project really seduced us. We had to imagine our main character living in his mother’s belly and most of all in the amniotic fluid. We had to create his movements, his behavior as he has no experience on the outside world. We wanted to create a believable though visually poetic universe. We had to work on different artistic and technical uncertainties such as: “How do we light up the inside of a belly, so we can see our character and his emotions?” “How do we mark the difference between day and night, as in reality a fetus is actually in the dark?” “How is it possible to talk and sing in the amniotic fluid?” “What’s his perception of the outside world?” “And how do we hear him from the outside?” Also about the mother, what would her stage outfit be like with such a big belly? How does she manage to move or walk?

How far would you go to pursue your passion?

How long did it take you to make your film?

In our different projects together we always intend to imagine and develop deeply the universe that our characters live in. For 216 Months, the concept is completely impossible although we attempted to make it believable. This is our way to work and we can go really far on this. We are currently working on our first feature with the same passion and hard work. Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? This is our first time competing at this festival and we have never been to Bulgaria before but we would love to be able to attend if our timetable allows us to leave Paris.

216 Months

(dir. Valentin Potier, Frédéric Potier / Fiction / France / 2012 / 26’ 00’) Nothing is comparable to the success of Maureen, the ventriloquist singer, except her belly: it is simply outrageous. But a shadow is hanging over her career and that of her manager husband’s. The entrancing voice that comes out of Maureen’s insides has a name: Charles. He will soon be 18, the rebellious age, and he has one sole objective in life: to be born. Valentin Potier graduated from Paris cinema school ESRA, he started his career by editing commercials. He wrote and directed his first short film “Tony Zear” (Tony Zoreil) in 2007. The film was selected in many international festivals and won about 40 prizes. Frederic Potier, Valentin’s father, started his career as a photographer. This is how he developed a sense of aesthetic and images composing. From photography to music video and commercial direction his career took a natural new turn. He directed about 200 commercial films around the world.

Viktor van der Valk: YOU

HAVE TO BE SINCERE ABOUT THE FILM YOU’RE MAKING Viktor van der Valk presents us with a philosophical question about “choices”, whether we have one or not, the right or the wrong one. His film “Brick”, as it´s presented, is a testimony and a realization that our choices may vary but as long as we keep them truthful then we´ll succeed.

the ‘why’ I’m making this film question aside so I can mainly focus on the ‘how’ to make this film. This automatically brings me to the other point I think is necessary for me when making a film and that is to be curious. Curiosity to me is an important drive. How long did it take you to make your film? Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create it? When I was around 17 years old, my parents moved to Copenhagen. I didn’t want to move with them so I decided to stay in Holland and moved in at my best friend’s house and his parents. Because I needed some money I started to work, five days a week, in a Stone factory (like you can see in the film). In this factory I met a boy, who was also 17 years old and he asked me why I was working there. I told him I could use a little money for a future study or a long travel I would want to make. When I asked him why he was working there he told me something that fascinated me. He said that he didn’t have a choice since he was about to become a father in two months’ time. This boy, his words and the stone factory always stayed in my mind. With Brick I wanted to tell a story about someone who is being confronted with a deep desire, his true identity but chooses to ignore it. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? To me the most important thing is that I have to feel sincere about the film I’m making. In the past, I sometimes, had to direct a script from another writer, but I always have difficulties with this approach since I do not always have a personal bound or connection with the story and therefore I do not really feel sincere towards myself or the audience. Therefore I mainly prefer to write my own scenarios or to work with a co-writer. Then I know I’m fascinated about something which puts

Brick is my third year film from the Dutch Film Academy. In total I think we worked around six to seven months on the film. Did you ever have your convictions shattered by an event, or person? When I was a young boy, I had two dreams; either become a professional football player or become a film maker. I chose to follow my first dream. For years I did nothing else but practicing. I’ve done my best, but apparently something or someone wanted me to follow another path. And so I did. I stopped playing football and focused myself on my other dream: film making. And I tell you what; so far no one or nothing is stopping me, haha! What do you believe are your main interests these days? Film, theatre and to be honest I just started playing football again but on a really low level with only crazy film people, haha! Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? Though I have been to a few countries in the Eastern part of Europe; Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, and loving it, I have never been to Bulgaria before. It will be my first time in Bulgaria and I will attend the festival for the first time. I heard quit some positives sounds about the festival from fellow students and film makers and also from my producers and sales agent.

Brick

/dir. Viktor van der Valk / fiction / Netherlands / 2013 / 13’ 15’/ Jeffrey, who lives in a small town near Arnhem with his father and his girlfriend, is about to become a dad. He spends his days working in the local brick factory and leads a life of routine. But this all changes when he has to supervise Kevin, a new coworker. Viktor Bjarni van der Valk (Reykjavik ’87) studied for three years at HKU (School of the Arts Utrecht) before he started at the Netherlands Film Academy in Amsterdam.

Yana Titova:

MY SING LO IS ME FOR THING ST ARIE SC THE

MIND

Yana Titova makes her debut as short film director. The young Bulgarian actress, known from her roles in theater and cinema, dives into the short film genre with “The bridge”. The perfect symbiosis between the viewer and the main character is accomplished trought the specific technique the little crew used while filming.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film?

What have been the “deepest and scariest emotions and fears” of your own existence?

The story of the film is based on a true story of a friend of mine. I wanted to explore the story on a different level, beyond the everyday sense of being. I was curious to see how far I could go, so I just sat down and wrote it. And once I finished it I was really impatient to shoot it!

Well that’s a tricky question! I really don’t know what I am capable of doing in a stressful situation. I think the scariest thing for me is losing my mind and not thinking clearly.

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? The main thing I was looking for was to create an atmosphere where one feels as if they are following the main character throughout the movie. We did the whole film hand-held and it worked great. How long did it take you to make your film? We did it for 8 hours – just one night. But if we are talking about the whole preproduction and postproduction period it took us a month and a half.

Has a unknown or familiar person ever changed your life dramatically? Yes, but in a good way! My daughter did. Now everything is even better than before! Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I´m Bulgarian but I’ve been living in London for the last two years. As an actress I was part of a movie “The Paraffin Prince” which won the Best Short Award in the National Competition two years ago. I was part of the festival then and I loved it! I was dreaming about coming back with my own project and now it’s a fact, so I can’t be happier!

The Bridge

/dir. Yana Titova/ fiction /Bulgaria, UK/ 2013/ 10´47”) The story of a man in London. Waiting for his girlfriend, he goes through the deepest and scariest emotions and fears of his existence. Trying to have a cigarette at peace before her arrival, he meets an unexpected stranger who is about to change his life…or rather this encounter is only a reminder of the twisted stories and lies he has been living into. Yana Titova is an actress, writer and director. “The Bridge” is Yana’s director debut. As an actress Yana has numerous films and awards, including The Bulgarian Film Academy Award for best actress as well as The Golden Rose Film Award. Yana is now about to shoot her first feature length film as a writer/director.

Yann Gorriz: I LIKE SHORT-FILMS AS IT IS A VERY

DIFFICULT EXERCISE

Yann Gorriz becomes a ground-breaker with this short drama in Welsh. This director enjoys exploring the inter-personal relationships within a familiar environment.

What, in your wildest dreams, would you wish you could have become as a young child? As a child I wanted to be an oceanographer! Nothing to do with films. I had a passion for the ocean, the animals of the sea. I used to go in the sea every day and catch seashells and collect them. I had about 1000! Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? Glyn is a Welsh short-film created by Yann Gorriz (producer/director) and Eira Wyn Jones (producer/ Director of Photography). Eira Wyn Jones is Welsh and the idea of making this film began during a week of holiday in Anglesey, North Wales. We saw some beautiful landscapes and an empty caravan. We thought that we had never seen any shortdrama in Welsh before and that maybe it would be cool to make one ourselves. And Glyn was born! How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? As a director I am very interested in relationships between people, especially relationships between members of a family. I like short-films as it is a very difficult exercise, it is an art in itself to be able to tell a story within a few minutes! I like and try to spread an emotion to an audience and I hope that I sometimes succeed! How long did it take you to make your film? It took a month to write and produce, 3 days to shoot and a month to edit!

How was your childhood look like? I was born and grew up in Reunion Island, a French Island in the Indian Ocean. My childhood was great; it’s been a fantastic chance to grow up on a paradisiac island. We had sun every day and summer all year long! Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I have never been to Bulgaria myself. My producer and DOP, Eira Wyn Jones, has visited Bulgaria once. She went there to ski. She told me it was beautiful and wished she could go back. It is our first time in the festival; we are so pleased with that. It’s always a great chance to be part of great cultural events and show our film to a real audience. We make films for the audience, we don’t get any money from them, and so our only reward is the audience’s emotions while watching our films. I have heard great things about the festival, I’ve heard that it was ran by very dedicated and passionate people really aiming at creating a platform for young and established filmmakers to show their work. I’ve also heard it was the most important film festival of Bulgaria! We are genuinely honored to be part of it. Interesting to show life in Anglesey surrounded by the Irish Sea to an audience from Balchik ‘’surrounded’’ by the Black Sea!

Glyn

/ dir. Yann Gorriz / Fiction / UK / 2014 / 11’ 52’/ Glyn is a 10 year-old Welsh boy who lives in an isolated area and dreams to become an astronaut. He finds refuge in a caravan adjacent to his house to escape from his authoritarian dad. Glyn’s friend Rhodri is moving from the area and soon Glyn will be alone again. Yann’s first film Duct Tape has been selected for the Royal Television Society Awards in 2013 and has been screened at the BFI Southbank as part of the BKSTS. It has been nominated for awards at a dozen of International Film festival around Europe including the Chacun Son Court Film Festival in France the Alto Vicentino Film Festival in Italy and the Aesthetica Film Festival in the UK. Glyn is his second film and is currently being entered into the film festival circuit. He is currently working into developing two new short films RENAUD and SCARS. Both to be produced in 2014.

BELIEVE THAT THE “SHADES” IN W WORLD NE HOLE W A E AT CRE N CA PT RI SC ONE

Yassen Genadiev: I

Yassen Genadiev attempted to capture a story that at first wasn´t his but through his attentiveness and accuracy managed to make also his own. A truthful story of love, righteousness and wrongness.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? The idea of the film is based on two premises. On one hand, the need to find a realistic story to talk about love in a world that tends to create doubts and to provoke identity crisis. On the other hand, the desire to tell the story of a girl I personally knew and who had a very similar experience to that of the protagonist. The atmosphere of the film is deliberately marked by introspective pauses while the limited use of music outlines the silences as “places” where to look for answers and truth. The composition of the shots tells the story of two worlds that drift apart. The scenes separate the protagonists and divide them even more. That is underlined by the choice to isolate the figures and create a greater distance between the characters. The short film also raises the question of social concepts such as “right” and “wrong” and seeks to examine the status of the “foreigner” and the almost complete lack of certainty away from the homeland. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? Even if there is no such thing as new stories, I believe that the “shades” in one script can create a whole new world. As director/screenwriter, my starting point is always the story. I usually do a lot of preparation before shooting. I want to know more about the actors and how I can create a connection between them and the characters. On the set of “Little Talks”, I was trying to shape the characters in order to make them more approachable for the actors. The visual storytelling requires great story, great characters and the right atmosphere because sometimes all you need to communicate to the audience is the mood.

How long did it take you to make your film? Almost nine months… Have you ever had such difficulties and heartaches in your life, as expressed in your film? The film is based on a true story. I met a girl that inspired me for the main character of the film. She told me very detailed facts about her story and the most important thing she didn’t hide the pain sprung from her choices and the difficulty of her situation. What possessed you to overcome them? It’s not my personal story, but “Little Talks” is searching the answer of one big question - what are you willing to do for the person you love? I think about this every time I remember the story this girl told me. Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I was born in Bulgaria, but every time I come back home there is something special and new to be discovered. Yes, it’s my first time running for this festival and I’m very, very excited. I’ve known about the Festival since its first editions. Everybody I spoke with describe the festival as one of the best in Europe and as very interesting occasion about every filmmaker.

Little Talks

/ dir. Yassen Genadiev / Fiction / Italy / 2014 / 17’ 37’/ Galya, a bulgarian girl, has recently reached her boyfriend, Petyo, who’s been living in Milan for about two years. One day, Galya is called to replace a friend for a translation job. That day, her life changes forever. Yassen Genadiev is a director and screenwriter. He was born on October 20, 1985, in Sofia. In 2004 moved to Milan, Italy. He got his BA in Media Languages (2007) and his MA in Theory and Techniques of Media Communication (2010) from the Catholic University in Milan. In 2013, he graduated from the Film and Television School of Milan. “Little Talks” is his first film as a writer and director. Currently works on his first feature film named “At the end of the circle”.

Yassen Grigorov: MY

INSPIRATION IS THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE POSITION THAT BULGARIAN STATE TAKES IN TERMS OF ART AND CULTURE

Yassen Grigorov speaks in a straight and eloquent way regarding the story behind his work.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? My inspiration is the disappointment of the position that the Bulgarian state takes in terms of art and culture.

What opportunities are you the most grateful for? I am most grateful to the financial support from the World Film Center. Without this help I would not have been able to shoot my film. What symbolizes, to you, the expression “Thank You”?

How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? My creative approach was paternal.

“Thank you” is the expression of gratitude to those who inspired me to shoot my movie: Professor Boyan Biolchev and the Bulgarian film director Mariana Evstatieva-Biolcheva.

How long did it take you to make your film? One year.

Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? For the first time I take part in this festival. This festival is an important cultural event in Bulgaria.

Thank you for the opportunity

/ dir. Yassen Grigorov / Experimental / Bulgaria / 2013 / 4’/ A moving confession of the gratitude a TV ad director feels for his clients. Yassen Grigorov was born 16 July 1974 in Sevlievo, Bulgaria. Directing short and feature films, music videos, commercials, TV series and shows.

SECRETS AND HIDDEN FEELINGS PEOPLE EEN TW BE SS DNE SA D AN CE VIOLEN E CREAT

Zeno Graton: ALL

Zeno Graton finds his inspiration in the theatre, but controversially to the mostly used dramaturgic means of expression – the dialogue, he expresses the ideas and feelings with the medium.

Tell us about your film. What inspired you, or led you, to create this short film? I work as a videographer in the theatre department. I make videos for shows, dance, and music. I had the opportunity to watch actors rehearse, train, work, cry, laugh, and I immediately fell in love with the dramaturgic potential of this field. How would you describe your artistic approach, ever so present, in your work as a director? I had a DOP formation at INSAS. I studied light, camera, and I feel close to this language, I wanted in this film to pursue further the formation I had, and try new things, concretize my fantasies. I try to express the ideas and the feelings with the medium, and not with the dialogues. In this movie, it’s a story within a theatre, so, as we know, actors speak a lot, and I wanted to get rid of this idea, and express the powerful potential of the images. How long did it take you to make your film? It took several months to write, scattered in a school year full of other things, and one month before the shooting to prepare, then 2 weeks of shooting, then 5 weeks of editing, and 2 weeks of final post-production. The count is not easy, but there you have a little idea.

In your opinion how can we, since we´re the soul main characters of our own lives, coexist with each other the remaining of the cast? I would say that we definitely have to express ourselves as truly as possible. All secrets and hidden feelings create violence and sadness between people. In “Seagulls”, people tear themselves apart because they’re not true, they lie, and they hide love feelings or their fear of the other. The paradox is created because their job is to talk, to express themselves, and that’s exactly their problem in real life. How does it feel to be an actor within your life from your personal point of view? It feels great! Except that I’m not the screenwriter! But hey, isn’t it great to improvise? Have you ever been to Bulgaria before? Is this your first time running for this Festival? What do you know about this Festival? I’ve never been to Bulgaria, I’ve heard about the festival because of the festival platforms on the Internet. I’ve never been running for the festival.

Seagulls

/ dir. Zeno Graton / Fiction / Belgium / 2013 / 19’ 02’/ Judith and Damien are actors. They are in love. To unite, to truly exist together, outside of their set, of their fictional world, they will have to leave the frame and cut the sound. Zeno Graton, born in Brussels, Belgium in 1990, studied Cinematography at INSAS (Brussels). He’s working in the field of theatre as a videographer, and as a DoP for videoclips, web series and short films. In 2011, he directed “Les Corps conducteurs”, a short film selected by the FIFF and BSFF (Belgian Festivals). “Seagulls”, produced in 2013, is his graduation film. He’s currently developping a new short film “Jay amongst men“.