Bulgarian Ambassador to RA: Bulgarian movies become more and more  popular in Armenia

ArmInfo. On November 17, the European Film Week kicked off in Armenia, within which the Armenian audience was given the opportunity to get acquainted with the eleven latest films of European cinema, which were praised at various  European film festivals.

One of the films presented in the Yerevan "Moscow" Cinema was the film by the famous Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov "Light thereafter" (released in 2017 - ed. note). It should be noted that the premiere of the film in Armenia was shown  to full house.

The Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Bulgaria to  Armenia Maria Pavlova Tsosorkova-Kaymaktchieva made a welcoming  speech to the audience. The Ambassador noted that the festival takes  place in Armenia within the framework of the European Year of  Cultural Heritage. "We are grateful to the EU delegation in Armenia  and the British Council, which provided an invaluable opportunity for  the Armenian audience to watch new European films that reveal very  interesting topics and challenges that the European society faces,"  she said.

The Bulgarian diplomat stressed that the films that will be presented  to the Armenian audience gained popularity at various European film  festivals and won high awards. In particular, she noted that  Bulgarian movies become more and more popular in Armenia. In this  regard, M. Pavlova Tsotsorkova-Kaimaktchieva recalled that in 2017  the film of Bulgarian director Iglika Trifonova ''Prosecutor,  Defender, Father and His Son'' won the special prize of the jury at  the Golden Apricot International Film Festival, and in the summer of  2018 movie by Ilian Djevelekov ''Omnipresent'' was nominated for the  Golden Apricot Award.  Thanking Konstantin Bozhanov for agreeing to  personally come to Armenia and present his film, the Ambassador  stressed that the picture "Light thereafter" reflects the value  system of the European heritage.  ''This is a film about a young  Bulgarian who traveled around Europe in search of himself, his  identity, the journey of which is accompanied by various challenges.  I hope the film will seem interesting, make you think, ask yourself  questions, " M. Pavlova Tsotsorkova-Kaimaktchieva said.

Director of the film K. Bojanov said that the main character of the  film, who suffers from autism, constantly finds himself in a  situation where he has to make decisions and make choices in order to  determine what is best for him. ''Actually, this is what each of us  faces. And I would like to present this film in two realities in the  future, where the viewer would have the opportunity to see the film  from different points of view, one of which will be more fragmentary,  in-depth in art, and the second is envisaged for wide viewing, "he  said.

Noting that this is his first visit to Armenia, Bojanov thanked the  audience for the presence and interest in his film. I have been in  Armenia for a few hours, but I'm already well aware that I'll take  something valuable with me. Today, I was lucky to visit the museum of  Sergey Paradzhanov and get to know him as an art historian. I knew  about his cultural heritage as a director, I was familiar with his  films, but today I first saw collages created by the director. And I  realized that the world should know Sergey Paradzhanov as a collage  artist. Thank you for giving me this today, "he concluded.

To note, yesterday the director held a master class with students of  the Yerevan State Institute of Theater and Cinema. During a meeting  with students K. Bojanov showed fragments of 4 films, including "Our  Journey to Africa" (Germany, 1966). "What I will show you is most  likely very different from what you are taught here," said the  Bulgarian director. If there is no readiness today to destroy borders  and learn to look at situations from different points of view, before  starting to create a work of art, in the future this will be even  more difficult according to Bojanov. In the course of communication  with students, he stressed that when creating a film, it is necessary  to know firmly what audience the work is intended for, and what is  the main message in the film, the line of which must be kept to the  end. ''But the most significant is your inner feelings. In your  works, you should go out of the usual framework for yourself and show  what you feel, "he emphasized. Bojanov expressed readiness for the  most open and active dialogue.  In an interview with ArmInfo  correspondent, Bojanov noted that during the master class he expected  that the students would be more open about the fragments with which  the director decided to introduce them.  ''Unfortunately, it turned  out a little differently. But I am sure that in the event that we  have the opportunity to meet, socialize and re-imagine the films that  I have chosen for them today, I am sure they will understand and  accept. In fact, these are the films that have left a significant  mark on the history of cinema, "he said.