site.btaBulgarian Films Head to Venice: “Made in EU” by Stephan Komandarev to Premiere at World’s Oldest Festival

Made in EU, the latest film by Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev, will have its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, the oldest film festival in the world and one of the most prestigious.

The Bulgarian feature has been selected for the Spotlight section, which showcases eight films from various genres, focusing on cinematic innovation, artistic originality, and strong audience appeal. Each film will have four public screenings at Sala Giardino and will be accompanied by discussions with directors, actors, and figures from the arts and culture scene. Audiences will be invited to vote for the Armani Beauty Audience Award.

“With this selection, we’ve achieved something of a ‘Grand Slam’ in cinema—our films have now been in all of the Big Three: Cannes, Venice, and Berlin,” said Komandarev. “Dog’s Home was in Berlin in 2001, Directions screened in Cannes in 2017, and now, Made in EU, in Venice. These festivals gather the elite of the film industry and are seen as the most prestigious worldwide. Congratulations to our entire wonderful team. We hope Bulgarian institutions will support and celebrate this achievement with us in Venice,” he added.

Made in EU tells the story of a seamstress in a small town and her son. The woman, Iva, is blamed for causing a local pandemic and becomes a scapegoat, persecuted by a system that has profited from her labour for years. The film was shot in Haskovo, Dimitrovgrad, Madan, and Rudozem. The cast includes Gergana Pletnyova, Todor Kotsev, Gerasim Georgiev-Gero, Ivaylo Hristov, Ivan Burnev, Anastasia Ingilizova, and Ovanes Torosyan.

In Bulgaria, the film will open this year’s Kinomania Festival at Hall 1 of Sofia’s National Palace of Culture (NDK) on November 13 and will have its national cinema release on November 21.

The short film Unavailable, created with funding from Sofia Municipality via its Culture Programme, has also been selected for Venice. It is one of 14 short films chosen for this year’s festival, according to Sofia Municipality.

A co-production between Ukraine, France, Belgium, and Bulgaria, Unavailable is directed by Kyrylo Zemlianyi and follows the story of 18-year-old Sergiy, who lives in an evacuation zone in western Ukraine, while his mother remains in their occupied hometown. After a devastating attack on a humanitarian convoy, he sets off on a journey to find her.

The co-production was filmed in Ukraine, with editing completed in France, sound design in Belgium, and visual effects and post-production provided by Bulgaria’s 5th Degree studio. The project was presented at the Euro Connection forum in Clermont-Ferrand, France, and has received cash prizes from Midpoint Shorts and CineSud.