site.btaVasil Barkov Connects Two Countries, Bulgaria and Ukraine, in His Film The End of the River

Bulgarian producer and film director Vasil Barkov told BTA on Tuesday about his film, The End of the River, in which he managed to connect two countries, Bulgaria and Ukraine, two cultures close in spirit and worldview.  His screenplay won a competition and was supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, and also got a standing ovation at a at a competition of the Ukrainian State Film Agency (known in short as Derzhkino). The Bulgarian-Ukrainian film was  realized after almost three years of joint work together with the Odessa Film Studio (Ana Docheva, Andrey Osipov) and Barkov ‘s production company, Magic Mount.

"I can say that the film will be emotionally close to both Bulgarian and Ukrainian viewers. The main roles are played by the popular Bulgarian actors Penko Gospodinov, Georgi Kermenski, as well as the famous Ukrainian actors Georgi Deliev, Sergey Denga, Ekaterina Molchanova,” said Barkov.

The film The End of the River will be pre-premièred to Ukrainian audiences on July 16 in Vilkovo, within the framework of the festival of Ukrainian music, books and cinema, VYDELKAFEST.

"The premiere of the Bulgarian version of the film, which I am currently working on, will take place by the end of the calendar year in Sofia. The Bulgarian version will be ten minutes longer. It has a slightly different dramaturgical line and emotional moments. The work will continue for a few more months," added the filmmaker.

Film director Vasil Barkov is a Bessarabian Bulgarian, born in the village of Suvorovo, Izmail region, Ukraine. In 1997, he graduated in film directing at the National Academy of Theater and Film Arts (NATFIZ) in Sofia in the class of Prof. Vladislav Ikonomov.  Barkov is a member of national commissions for cinema in the Bulgarian National Film Center and Bulgarian National Television. His films have received prestigious awards at film festivals in Bulgaria and abroad, including Golden Chest, Bronze Vityaz, and others. By his initiative, from 2010 to 2018, Days of Bulgarian Contemporary Cinema were held in Kyiv and Odessa.