Manuscript
Desislava Tomova
I do not know if they will make it, but
they have certainly done their best. They – a group of film-makers in a time most unsuitable for film-making
in Bulgaria – are TRYING TO KEEP the spirit of Bulgarian intelligence awake.
Iglika Trifonova, Ivan Cherkelov, Lyudmil Todorov, Mario Krastev, Milena
Andonova, Rositsa Valkanova, Svetoslav Ovcharov – all of them students of
Georgi Dyulgerov and Mladen Kiselov – now play the authors of a very realistic
and humane book. Their skilful stories are in fact portraits of Bulgarians.
Each of their characters seeks to discover his own world, full of harmony and
happiness. Is this possible – here and now? The wild challenges of life have
the effect of a creative Viagra. The magnificent seven whom we know so well
from the large screen now submerge us in intriguing tales, dynamic and
colorful. Never mind that the experience is nothing like cinema. Taking care of
the nation’s spiritual health simply CANNOT BE DELAYED! Nor can be documenting
the tragicomic efforts of Bulgarians in their struggle for survival. All
accumulated emotions should become art, and the sooner the better, the authors
say. While the phoenix of our cinema is preparing to be reborn, they have
grabbed their feathers and applied them to a sheet of paper – in Rakopisi
(Manuscripts).
Podium Magazine, July 2000
