site.btaSofia Film Fest to Premiere Films about Bulgaria's First Expedition to Everest, Artist Lyubo Savinov, Writer Aleko Konstantinov

Documentaries about the first Bulgarian expedition to Everest in 1984, artist Lyubo Savinov and writer Aleko Konstantinov will premiere at the 29th edition of Sofia Film Fest, organizers Art Fest said on Sunday.

The Cruel Way is a documentary that tells the story of the 1984 Bulgarian expedition to Everest. It was directed by Deyan Bararev with screenwriters Elena Ermova, Stanislav Grozdanov and Diliyan Pavlov. Late Radoslav Spasov and Ivan Spasov produced the film. It features previously unpublished recordings of fateful radio communications. Hristo Prodanov, Ivan Valchev, Metodi Savov, Nikolay Petkov and Kiril Doskov attack Everest by the deadliest route that runs integrally - entirely along the edge - the West Ridge, unconquered by anyone before or since. This very route is called Hornbein Couloir or "The Cruel Way".

We Are All Children will also be presented at the Sofia Film Fest. The film is directed by Svetla Tsotsorkova and Svetoslav Ovcharov and features children, parents and residents of the remote mountain village of Ravna Gora. The local school has 76 children - more than half Roma, the rest Bulgarians and Turks. However, it is in danger of closure as the minimum number of pupils is 80.

Konstantin Zankov's Without Compromise... in Solitude is a story about the life of the artist Lyubo Savinov.

Iliya Kostov is the writer, director and producer of the new documentary Death for the Author, Life for the Hero, which will be screened at Sofia Film Fest. It tells the story of writer Aleko Konstantinov's place in the cultural life of Bulgaria, his active participation in social and political processes at the end of the 19th century. His personal life and his work are closely linked to the most dynamic era of Bulgaria's history. His ideas have made their mark on many of these processes, and have not lost their meaning and significance to this day. 

Hristo Dimitrov-Hindo's film Letters to... and back tells the story of 70 years of love poured into 437 letters, 30 paintings drawn on their envelopes. Dimitrov is the screenwriter, cinematographer and director, and co-writer and producer is Stanimir Petrov.