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Kyustendil, a sleepy town in the Bulgarian mountains, has been hit by covid, hard. In a close-knit community, patients meet former classmates in the same hospital room. Banter can often be heard through corridors, but death is never far. Many patients live in constant fear of deteriorating quickly and being sent ‘upstairs’. ‘Upstairs’ is the intensive care unit, where only a handful are known to have survived. Presiding over the perpetual stream of complicated cases is Dr. Popov. Tall and kind-hearted, for some he has a witty line, for others a quote from Kant. Some of them misfire, but through the quiet dread in the hospital, he emits a mountain of human warmth. Unexpectedly, light and laughter echo through the hospital halls.
With its unique access and touching personal stories the film gives a high level cinematic experience with immersive insights within characters’ stories. It is a profound documentary observation on the pandemic subject with delicate character-driven scenes, gradually unfolding details. The directors have spent some 70 days with full access to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, sometimes serving literally as medical assistants to the doctors. Due to its nature the film has been almost entirely self-financed
World Premiere Karlovy Vary 2022. / Ecumenical Jury Award
Sarajevo Film Festival 2022.
CINEAST 2022.
Antenna Documentary Festival 2022.
DOK Leipzig 2022.
IDFA 2022.
Zurich Film Festival 2022.
Nepal Human Rights International Film Festival 2023.
CREATIVE TEAM
Ilian METEV, director
Ilian has directed the documentaries “Goleshovo”(2008) and “Sofia’s Last Ambulance”(2012) and the fiction film “3/4” (2017). His work has received over 45 awards, including from the festivals of Cannes, Locarno and Karlovy Vary. Since 2019, he is teaching at the UK National Film and Television School.
Ivan CHERTOV, director
Ivan has been working as camera operator in various feature and documentary film productions for both local Bulgarian and foreign films. His first short film as a cinematographer (Auf Weidersehen – dir: Eddy Schwartz, Yordan Petkov) won the Best Live Action Short award at the 31-st Warsaw Film Festival in 2015. His debut feature “February” – dir: Kamen Kalev was in the official selection of Cannes Film Festival 2020. This is his full-length directorial debut.
Zlatina TENEVA, director
Zlatina graduated with a BA Journalism from Sofia University, Bulgaria, in 2018. Since then, she has worked as a director, line producer and researcher on numerous film projects for ARTE and Deutsche Welle. In 2020, she was selected for the documentary workshop DOC Campus, organized by DOK Leipzig. This is her full-length directorial debut.
PRODUCTION
AGITPROP is probably the most awarded Bulgarian film production company with lead producer Martichka BOZHILOVA. The company was set up in 1997 by Boris MISSIRKOV and Georgi BOGDANOV, renowned directors, cinematographers, visual artists and photographers. AGITPROP has co-produced with Germany, USA, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Romania, Croatia, UAE etc. Among AGITPROP’s leading TV partners are: Channel 4, Sundance Channel, HBO, ARTE, PBS, YLE. AGITPROP has produced a number of films – creative documentaries, fiction films and TV series with a strong author’s style, among which the multi-internationally awarded GEORGI AND THE BUTTERFLIES (IDFA winner), THE MOSQUITO PROBLEM AND OTHER STORIES (Cannes, Karlovy Vary, London), CORRIDOR #8 (Berlinale), OMELETTE (Sundance), THE BOY WHO WAS A KING (Toronto). AGITPROP produced the first original Bulgarian content for HBO and National Geographic. The company’s filmography includes TOUCH ME NOT (Golden Bear Winner, Berlinale 2018), LOVE & ENGINEERING (Tribeca NY, Visions de Reel; Karlovy Vary), DAD MADE DIRTY MOVIES (sold to more than 30 territories). AGITPROP’s credits include also the documentary TV series/one-off PALACE FOR THE PEOPLE (Dok Leipzig 2018, Dok Buster Award; the series was aired on BBC, ARTE, MDR, NHK, SVT and many others), as well as the high-end TV drama series FATHER’S DAY commissioned by the Bulgarian National Television. Its latest productions include also THE CARS WE DROVE INTO CAPITALISM (Dok Leipzig 2022, CPH:Dox, Zagrebdox). AGITPROP is involved in the management of the Balkan Documentary Center for supporting documentary filmmakers from the Balkans. www.agitprop.bg
CHACONNA FILMS
Chaconna Films is a production company founded by Ilian METEV and Betina IP in 2010, aiming at playfully pushing the boundaries of cinema. The name of the company ‘Chaconna’ is derived from ‘chaconne’, a musical composition in which the variation of a theme offers a structure for invention. Its work has been showcased internationally on small and big screens alike and has been honoured with over forty awards, including a nomination for the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012 and the winning of the Golden Leopard (cineasti del presente) at Locarno Film Festival 2017. Based between Sofia, Bulgaria and Oxford, UK. www.chaconna-films.com
SUTOR KOLONKO
Emmy award-winning and Oscar nominated Sutor Kolonko with lead producer Ingmar TROST was founded in 2010 in Cologne in order to create an independent platform for the development and production of challenging documentaries and narrative feature films. The company strives at being a harbour and point of departure especially for young writers and directors. Sutor Kolonko has a strong focus on international co-productions that are driven by strong stories and told with a distinctive style. https://sutorkolonko.de
