THE FIRST FILM FESTIVAL TO HONOR BULGARIAN ARCHAOLOGICAL AND HISTORORICAL DOCUMENTARIES

11/14/2009

Bulgarian School "John Atanasov" in Chicago
De Paul University, 3166 S. River Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60018

10 -10:30 A History of the Ancient Amphitheatre in Philippopolis (2008) 32min.

Director: Jordan Detev

Screenplay: Jordan Detev, Nikolay Sharankov

Producer: Jordan Detev, BMAS

A film about the Ancient Roman Amphitheater in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. An enchanting story about its functioning as an art house for theatre plays, musicals, and poetry readings; as well as an administrative center for the Roman province of Trakia. A unique 3D model of the original theatre is presented in the film as well.

10:45 – 11:15 Plovdiv – a Journey through the Centuries (2008) 30 min

Director: Vanya Tringova

Screenplay: Vanya Tringova

Director of Photography: Stanimir Navoushtanov

Producer: “Jane” agency

A film about Plovdiv, a city more than 8,000 years old with a remarkable and complex history of stormy events, glory and progress, as well as destruction and devastation. A city that bears with dignity its reputation for being the Bulgarian cultural center.

11:30 – 12:00 Prespa – the tears of the Gods (2008) 32min.

Director: R. Angelakova

Screenplay: Valery Jacov, Krasimir Kushev

Director of Photography: Lyuben Pankov

Producer: BNC, RTVC Blagoevgrad

A film about the unique story of Lake Prespa and the historical events around tzar Samuil’s soldiers who were blinded by the Byzantine emperor and sent home with one soldier with one eye for every 100 soldiers to be able to lead the way.

12:15 – 12:50 Detev predstavyane na knigata

1:15 – 1:45 Gods, around and beyond (1994) 28 min

Director: Virginia Kostadinova

Screenplay: Virginia Kostadinova

Director of Photography: Ivan Varimezov

Producer: Virginia Kostadinova

A film about the Thracian rituals at the archeological reserve near the village of Svestari, Bulgaria. The cemetery is a monument on the list of UNESCO. The film received a special jury prize at the AGON film festival in Athens in 1996, and was part of the Science and Imagination Festival in Paris in 1997.

2:00 – 2:50 The Ahridosseus’ Fortresses (2009) 54 min.

Director: Zlatin Boyadjiev

Screenplay: Zlatin Boyadjiev

Director of Photography: Violin Paleykov

Producer: BNT, RTVC Plovdiv

A short series that looks at the origination, existence and disappearance of the fortresses in the eastern Rodopy mountains, built by the Byzantine Empire and the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. Dozens of fortresses were built around the Arda river between 5th and 14th century AD. They were used to guard the roads leading to Constantinople, Adrianople (Odrin), and Philipople (Plovdiv). Consultants on the film include Nicolay Ovcharov, Ph.D.; Bonny Petrunova, Director of History at the National Archeological Institute, a division of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; and Daniela Kodzhamanova from the Regional History Museum in the town of Kardzhaly.

3:00 – 4:00 No Way Back (2002) 50min.

Director: Liudmil Kolev

Screenplay: Atanas Panayotov,Bistra Varneva, Matey Todorov

Director of Photography: Emil Zhupov

Producer: Matey Todorov

Production Company: RTVC Varna

On December 12th, 1941 the ship “Struma” with 770 Jews on board sailed from Constance to Palestine in an attempt to flee from the Nazi threat. The ship’s engine stopped working near Istanbul where the ship got stuck for 2 months and was eventually sunk by a Soviet torpedo. The only survivor, David Stolyar, reveals the tragedy buried in the historical pages for more than 65 years.

11/14/2009

Bulgarian Educational Center „Znanie”
916 Е. Central Rd. Arlington Heits, IL 60005

2:00 – 2:45 Detev- predstavyane na knigata

3:00 – 3:30 The Patrons of Europe (2002) 28 min.

Director: Penka Shopova

Screenplay: Alexander Nedkov, Penka Shopova, Radoslav Spasov

Director of Photography: Plamen Solovei, Marcos Azambudga

Producer: Vladimir Kondov, RTVC Ruse

The film follows the traces left by the two brothers Cyril and Methodius in various chapels in Venice, Rome, and Loreto. The two brothers were canonized as saints by Pope Lion XII in 1880. A hundred years later, Pope John Paul II proclaimed them for co-patrons of Europe and called them “the Spiritual Bridge between the Eastern and Western tradition.” Nowadays, the admiration for the two brothers is stronger than ever. They are known for their significant contribution to the religious and cultural development of Europe.

3:45 – 4:20 The Bogomils and the Holy Grail (2008) 35min.

Director: Valentin Gonevski

Screenplay: Maxim Karadjov

Director of Photography: Valentin Gonevski

Producer: Panorama movie

A film about the Bogomil movement in Sud, France, the town of Bugarash, the Holy Grail, and the Katars who were the French Bogomils.

4:30 –5:00 Outlines of the First Bulgarian Parliament (2007) 27min.

Director: Ivan Traykov

Screenplay: Daniela Lazarova

Director of Photography: Emil Penev

Producer: Association “Theodosius of Tarnovo”

A film about the debates and founding of the Great Bulgarian Constitutional Assembly.