site.btaStephan Komandarev's "Made in EU" Featured at Golden Rose Film Festival

Stephan Komandarev's new film Made in EU was featured in the competition programme of the Golden Rose Bulgarian Feature Film Festival in Varna. The screening and a news conference after it were attended by assistant director Borimir Ilkov, Stephan Komandarev, actress Gergana Pletnyova, screenwriter Simeon Ventsislavov and production manager Bogdan Ejbekov.

The idea for the film began taking shape in 2019, inspired by research into labour exploitation in Bulgaria, Komandarev said. Simeon Ventsislavov has a personal connection to the garment industry as his mother worked in a sewing factory and later in workshops producing garments for export. The film's main character, Iva Doneva, portrayed by Gergana Pletnyova, works in this sector, falls ill with COVID-19 and becomes a target of public pressure and hostility.

Komandarev noted that recent global events have fostered a crisis consciousness, marked by growing distrust between governments and citizens. This often leads to anxiety and aggression, and the easiest way for people to cope is to find a scapegoat.

The filmmakers also aim to highlight the role of social media as a catalyst for division. Komandarev said that online, people feel free to insult others and manipulate public opinion, eroding the social bonds that unite communities and creating "tribes" that cannot coexist.

Asked if he worries that he might be labelled a Eurosceptic, Komandarev said he has always been happy about Bulgaria's EU membership, but that does not mean one should remain silent about what is wrong. He added that audiences in other countries can also identify with the issues raised by the film.

Pletnyova prepared for the role for a full year, an effort unlike anything she had done before. She rehearsed the text, visited filming locations and attended four months of sewing classes alongside co-star Anastasia Ingilizova, speaking with women in the workshops to capture their spirit. Young actor Todor Kotsev, who plays her son, spent time in the southern town of Rudozem to immerse himself in the setting.

The film was co-produced by Bulgaria, Germany, Czechia and France, starring Gergana Pletnyova, Kotsev, Gerasim Georgiev, Anastasia Ingilizova, Ivan Barnev and Ivaylo Hristov. It screened at the Venice Film Festival this year, Komandarev said. It is set to open the Kinomania Film Festival, and has been acquired for broadcast by BNT, HBO, ZDF Arte, and Turkish public television.