site.bta For the First Time in Decades, 2015 Saw Better Feature Films than Documentaries - Film Expert

For the First Time in Decades, 2015 Saw Better Feature Films than Documentaries - Film Expert

Sofia, December 23 (BTA) - For the first time in decades, 2015 saw more interesting feature films than documentaries, Antonia Kovacheva, the director of the Bulgarian National Filmotheque, said in a BTA interview. "There were some strong achievements in documentary cinema but as a team result feature films and animated cartoons took a giant leap and went much ahead," she said.
     
She picked out two feature films produced in 2015: Family Relics of director Ivan Cherkelov and Losers of director Ivaylo Hristov. While being totally different in terms of directorial approach, they are very much the same with the empathy and love they have for their characters. One more film falls in this company for its emotional solidarity with the characters, Thirst by Svetla Tsotsorkova.
     
Kovacheva mentioned several debuts in Bulgarian cinema which she finds outstanding: The Petrov File (Dosieto Petrov) by Georgi Balabanov, The Woman of My Life by Antonii Donchev (both directors being seasoned documentary filmmakers), Viktoria by Maya Vitkova and Twice Upon a Time in the West by Boris Despodov.
      
Salto Mortale by Borislav Kolev is the documentary of the year in Kovacheva personal rating.

The year when Bulgarian cinema celebrated its centenary showed that viewers of all ages, geographical regions and walks of life crave Bulgarian cinema and Bulgarian culture in general - despite the traditional nihilism, pessimism and scepticism about all things homemade.

"The problems of the film industry are very well-known. In addition to underfunding, there is this most inadequate system for selection of film projects for state subsidizing and it is high time this changed after eight years of tribulation," said Kovacheva.