East of the West - Competition 2008 / Šivački / Bulgaria 2007
Unemployment forces three friends to leave their hometown for Sofia, hoping that the metropolis will fulfil their dreams and aspirations. Time passes and the girls realise that there is nothing for it but to reconcile themselves with their fate – but, as is well known, fate can be inscrutable and could have some surprises in store.
Three girlfriends decide to flee the desperate unemployment situation in their native city and move to Sofia, resolved to accept any kind of work and look for whatever accommodation they can find. After a chance encounter on a busy street, the prettiest of the girls is offered a job waitressing in a bar. They then find a squalid flat which they have to share with a married couple and a bohemian musician. While the most fortunate of the three, using her feminine charms, gradually manages to break away, the other two have to make do with extremely poorly paid work. The more enterprising of them hopes that her luck will change when she falls in love, but the relationship nearly costs her her life. Time passes and with it, the illusions which brought them to the big city. Stitching together fragments of luxury underwear was certainly not what any of them envisaged, but when their last attempt to find their footing fails, there is nothing for it but to reconcile themselves with their fate – but, as is well known, fate can be inscrutable and could have some surprises in store.
87 min / Color, 35 mm
International premiere
Director Lyudmil Todorov
/ Screenplay Ljudmil Todorov / Lyudmil Todorov
/ Dir. of Photography Emil Christov / Emil Hristov
/ Music Antony Dončev / Antony Donchev
/ Editor Nina Altuparmakova
/ Producer Petja Brajkova / Petya Braykova, Vlado Šiškov / Vlado Shishkov, Brajko Brajkov / Brayko Braykov
/ Production Crosspoint
/ Cast Alexandra Surchadzhieva, Elen Koleva, Violeta Markovska, Asen Blatečki / Asen Blatechki, Nona Jotova / Nona Yotova, Filip Avramov, Julian Vergov / Yulian Vergov
/ Contact Crosspoint, Bulgarian National Film Center
www: www.seamstressesmovie.com
Lyudmil Todorov (b. 1955, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Bulgaria) graduated in film direction from the National Academy of Film and Theatre (VITIZ) in Sofia in 1982. He has published a collection of stories and the novel Chronicle of Love (Khronika na yedna lyubov). He impressed audiences with his debut film Running Dogs (Byagashchi kucheta, 1989) and subsequently won the Grand Prix at the Turin IFF for his film The Bosun’s Summer of Love (Lyubovnoto lyato na jedin lyokhman, 1990), and the FIPRESCI prize in Thessaloniki for Emilia’s Friends (Priyatelite na Emiliya, 1996). He followed this up with the films Two Men Out of Town (Dvama mazhe izvan grada, 1998) and Emigrants (Emigranti, 2002), made in association with Ivaylo Hristov. The Bulgarian National Film Centre presented Seamstresses (Shivachky, 2007) with awards for direction, screenplay, photography, also a Best Actress award for Elen Koleva and the Best Film award. The film also won the FIPRESCI prize at the Sofia IFF in 2008.
Crosspoint
Slavianska Str. 27, 1000, Sofia
Bulgaria
Phone: +359 298 14049
Fax: +359 298 05786
E-mail: [email protected]
Bulgarian National Film Center
2A Dondukov Blvd., 1000, Sofia
Bulgaria
Phone: +359 2 988 38 31
Fax: +359 2 987 36 26
E-mail: [email protected]
Vladimir Shishkov
Producer
Gergana Dakovska
Film Institution Rep.
Petya Braykova
Producer
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