site.bta"Blaga's Lessons" to Be Submitted for Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Blaga's Lessons, directed by Stephan Komandarev, is the official Bulgarian submission for the 2024 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, the National Film Centre in Sofia said on Thursday after a selection committee met earlier in the day.

The Bulgarian-German social thriller has already gained international recognition. It triumphed at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it won the Crystal Globe Grand Prix, the best actress prize for Eli Skorcheva and the Grand Prize from the ecumenical jury. The film will run in the official competition of the upcoming Thessaloniki International Film Festival, where it has been selected for the Balkan Survey Programme.

Blaga's Lessons is about a retired and recently widowed teacher named Blaga, who falls victim to a telephone scam and is left without savings and with no money to pay for her husband's grave. Her life is turned upside down and she realizes that there is no way she can get her money back. One day, she receives an appealing yet suspicious job offer. An honest woman going by the rules, Blaga slowly abandons all her principles.

Stephan Komandarev is an internationally acclaimed film director, producer and screenwriter. His feature films include Rounds (2019; eight awards won), Directions (2017; twelve awards won); The Judgment (2014; twelve awards won), and The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner (2008; thirty-five awards won, shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film). Komandarev has also made seven award-winning documentaries. He is a member of the European Film Academy.

Blaga's Lessons marks the comeback of actress Eli Skorcheva, who is cast in the main role. This is her first appearance on the big screen in 30 years. The cast also includes Stefan Denolyubov, Assen Blatechki, Ivan Barnev, Irini Jambonas, Rozalia Abgarian, Ivaylo Hristov and Gerasim Georgiev.

The 96th Academy Awards will be held on March 10, 2024. The shortlisted submissions will be announced on December 21, 2023, and the official nominations will be revealed on January 23.