OLGA MARKOVA, producer and film critic from Bulgaria

ONLY HUMOUR CAN SAVE US

You are a producer of documentary and short films, as well as a film critic, so you can tell us what is the situation in the Bulgarian cinematography, in respect to the documentary and short films. In Serbia , for example, a lot of «state» or «public» production companies have run for bankruptcy, a lot of independent private production companies have appeared. In what conditions do the Bulgarian film authors work?

Just like with you, in Bulgaria we have got a very strong and well-founded tradition of the documentary film. Your festival of the short film in Belgrade is the oldest one in the Balkans, it already exists for 52 years, and ours is two years younger. But, the ways of filmmaking are not traditional, but completely different. In Bulgaria , there is no “state” film anymore, except for the possibility to make a connection with the national television, which then in some small percent finances your project. However, such things are rare, and all the rest cooperate with private televisions and producers.

What subject do the new Bulgarian film authors work on?

Lately, they are interested in “strong” subjects – from drug addiction, through suicides, to prostitution. The young people have started very seriously to make films about the difficult problems. The times have passed when we only laughed and were looking forward to the film and in the film. Nowadays there are a lot of serious problems, a lot of things are extremely strained as the times are such, extreme ones. However, in such films as well, that deal with difficult subjects, we have kept our sense of humor, the one that, for example, my friend Dragan Elcic has, as well. That sense of humor and funny, keeps us in these times of conflicts, misery and wars, and we, people from the Balkans, have it in our genes like your Kusturica, and our Rangel Volchanov. I want to say that we can survive just with the humor.

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