site.btaLost and Found – Six Glances of a Generation Project Presented to Audience at Goethe-Institut

The Lost and Found – Six glances of a generation project was presented to a Bulgarian and foreign audience at the Goethe-Institut in Bucharest on Friday night, at the initiative of the Bulgarian OrasulReel Foundation.

The film brings together six short film novellas from Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Hungary, and Serbia and Montenegro. Each is an original short work through which the directors share their perspective on the first post-communist generation in Central and Eastern Europe.

The novellas are connected through animated elements, creating the sense of a unified journey across different countries.

The Bulgarian contribution, The Ritual, based on a story by Georgi Gospodinov and directed by Nadejda Koseva, was selected to open the project, while Bulgarian music accompanies the closing credits.

"The film was made in 2005, when the directors were at the beginning of their careers. Germany acted as the project’s supervisor," Ivanka Shisheva, chair of the foundation, said ahead of the screening.

Actress Ana Ularu also joined the audience via video message. She made her screen debut in the Romanian novellaTurkey Girl, part of the project.

"This is a very special selection, created at a remarkable moment in cinema, when many of our nations were finding their voices and making unprecedented efforts to be recognized on the international stage," she said, noting the many similarities between the countries involved.

Ularu said that the novella she stars in was filmed during the summer, just after she had graduated from high school and completed her exams. She also expressed special thanks to director Cristian Mungiu for supporting her first steps in the world of cinema.

Before the screening, guests enjoyed music by Todor Kolev, and afterward had the opportunity to exchange impressions over a glass of wine.

"Today marks a kind of anniversary for our public screenings, we began around this time two years ago," Shisheva said.

The final screening of a Bulgarian film at the Goethe-Institut in Bucharest for this season is scheduled for mid-May.

The OrasulReel Foundation, established at the end of 2021, is dedicated to researching and preserving Bulgarian cultural and historical heritage in Bucharest and beyond, as well as promoting Bulgarian culture through cinema and the arts.