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- Petar Ivanov Popyordanov , known as Chocho Popyordanov, is Bulgarian theater and cinema actor. He was born on June 11, 1964 in Sofia, Bulgaria. He is a son of Ivan Popyordanov (born on 1938) - a longtime Chief of the cinema center Boyana Film Studios. He was also Chief of Bulgarian National Television in 1998. The Mother of Petar Popyordanov Katya was a doctor. The father's family originated from Veles, Vardar Macedonia. Chocho great-grandfather was a first cousin of the Macedonian revolutionaries - Chieftain Mile and his younger brother Jordan Popyordanov-Ortse, leader of Thessaloniki bombers. In 1989, Petar Popyordanov graduated National Academy for Theatre and Film Art, Sofia, Bulgaria in "Acting" in the class of Professor Krikor Azaryan and Todor Kolev. He studied at the Czech Republic one year. He has played in the troupes of Theatre "Sofia", Little City Theatre "Off the Channel" and in 1994 - in the National Theater. His most famous theater roles were in performances "Outcasts," "Midsummer Night's Dream," "At the foot of Vitosha Mountain," "The Tempest," "The man who makes the rain," "Kimono", "Decameron," "Ghosts in Naples, "" Hedda Gabler. " Chocho Popyordanov has involved in cinema productions, including "Yesterday" (1988), "Rio Adio" (1989), " The Love Summer of a Schlep " (1990), "Vampires, ghouls" (1992) "Canaries Season" (1993), "Frontier" (1994), "Spanish fly" (1998), "After the end of the world" (1998), "Danube bridge" (1999), "Sombrero blues" (1999), " Wolf Hunt" (2000). Petar Popyordanov has won numerous nominations and awards, including a nomination for "Asker" in 1996 and 1997 and the prize "Golden Bayar" in Belgium for Best Actor in the film "Border". He had also a presence on the small screen, starring in the TV show "UFO Club" on "Channel 1". In 2007 he began his participation in the series "Outcasts" for "Channel 1" of Bulgarian National Television. He has nephews Helen and Peter Koshnicharski. Albeit posthumously Chocho Popyordanov became a father of adopted him months earlier daughter Ekaterina Petrova Popyordanova. He died on May 5, 2013 in Boyana, Sofia Province, Bulgaria.
- One of the most talented actors from Bulgaria. He was born in Sofia in 1942. In 1962 he graduated from famous Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts as an actor. His first appearance in the movies was in 1956 when he was a only a teenager. With the well known series Na vseki kilometar he gained international reputation.
- Baba Vanga, born Vangeliya Pandeva Dimitrova, in Strumica, North Macedonia, then the Ottoman Empire, in 1911, was a mystic, clairvoyant, and herbalist. Vanga lost her sight when she was 12. She was swept away by a mighty tornado. Later she was found alive, covered with dirt and stones, with sand in her eyes. She became blind as a result. In 1925 Vanga was brought to a school for the blind in the city of Zemun, in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, where she spent three years, and was taught to read Braille, and to play the piano. In 1927 she started making minor predictions about local phenomena. Her powers of foreseeing, clairvoyance, deepened and expanded after she turned 30. She attracted believers with her ability to heal and soothsay, fortune telling, a great number of people visited her, hoping to get a hint about whether their relatives were alive, or seeking for the place where they died. One of them was the Bulgarian Tzar Boris III. Another was Adolf Hitler. In 1942 Vanga married Dimitar Gushterov, a Bulgarian soldier, and moved to Petrich, Bulgaria, where she soon became well-known for her gifts and predictions. After the Second World War, Bulgarian politicians and leaders from different Soviet Republics, including Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev, sought her counsel. Several researchers have studied the phenomenon of Vanga in the attempt to establish whether she has any extraordinary capabilities. One of the first studies was initiated by the Bulgarian government and is described in the documentary "Fenomen" (1977). Fulfilling Baba Vanga's last will and testament, her house in Petrich was turned into a museum, which opened for visitors on May 5, 2008.
- Kosta Tsonev was a Bulgarian actor of Greek heritage starring in theatre, TV and cinema. He was born on 10 June 1929 in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia. He studied at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts. He has been married three times: twice to Anahid Tacheva and then to his present wife Elena. He has a son, famed newsreader Dimitar Tsonev, and a daughter. His second oldest brother was the late Vasil Tsonev, a dry witted satirist who wrote many books, which have been published in several languages. His oldest brother was the late Iwan Tsonev (Iwan Zoneff) who moved to Australia in 1950 where he became one of the biggest property developers in South Australia during the mid 60 showing the diverse talents of the 3 brothers in each of their chosen fields. The father of the three brothers was a simple house painter. In 2001, Tsonev turned to politics and was elected to the National Assembly of Bulgaria as a representative of the former National Movement Simeon II. He was reelected in 2005. He is known for The Commander of the Detachment (1959), Freedom or Death (1969), The Indispensable Sinner (1971), The Weddings of King Ioan Assen (1975), The Swimming Pool (1977), The Conversion to Christianity & Discourse of Letters (1982), Crazy Day (2004) and My Father the House-Painter (1974). He died on January 25, 2012 in Sofia.
- Actress
- Director
Nevena, born in Dupnitsa on December 12, 1938, is keenly aware of the inequities of the world from a very young age. Her father Bogdan is a military officer in the Kingdom of Bulgaria. When the Communist-led Fatherland Front government takes power in the 40's, it consolidates its victory by persecuting the government and military elite of wartime Bulgaria as "enemies of the people". Her father spends several years in the labor camp. Even after his release, the stigma of being an "enemy's" daughter will haunt her throughout her life. With her family unable to live in Sofia, Nevena spends her childhood in the village of Kumarica, where she draws relentlessly and develops a passion for acting. After being fascinated by tales of a film shoot happening nearby, she is recruited as an extra and given a single line in the 1956 film "Two Victories". The experience is the final push that convinces the 18-year old Economics Institute graduate to audition for the National Institute for Theatrical Art in Sofia. In her audition, she gives a contemporary, unorthodox take on the study "woman sees a mouse in the room", which runs counter to the theatrical dogma of the time. That, possibly coupled with the stain on her father's name, contributes to her rejection. In her moment of discouragement, she received an offer for an apprentice position in the troupe of the country theatre. Nevena begins her stage career with classical ingénue roles, playing a bare-footed Juliet to great acclaim, fascinating critics with her unpolished, organic talent. She is cast in her first major screen role opposite Lyubomir Sharlandziev in the 1957 film "Years of Love". Lyubomir falls in love with her at first sight, and the 19-year old, inexperienced Nevena marries her first on-screen romantic partner. Her husband is not only an actor, he's a director. He directs Nevena in a multitude of plays, first in Gabrovo, then in Ruse, all the while acting as her unofficial acting tutor, constantly honing her skill. The screen adaptation of the novel "Tobacco" is a long and dramatic story. Author Dimitar Dimov is under tremendous pressure to rewrite portions of his work, to soften the impact of the characters within, while director Nikola Korabov has the uneasy task of reducing a 1500-page novel to a 150-page script. Kokanova has been in a few films already and Korabov hopes to have her play Irina, the female lead - a strong, independent, self-aware and ultimately self-destructive character. There is pressure from the Artistic Council of Cinematography to have another actress cast. Nevena is young, inexperienced, unschooled, provincial, and an undesirable to the Communist Party, which at the time exerts a tremendous amount of censorship and influence over anything produced in the country. There is even talk of bringing in a foreign actress to play Irina, but Dimov is against it. In the end, despite a tremendous amount of difficulty and at great risk to his career, Korabov secures Kokanova for the role. She has reservations herself, feeling unequal to the task of filling the shoes of the strong and experienced literary character that is Irina, but she is made for the screen and she becomes more confident with every shooting day that passes. "Tobacco" is presented at Cannes in 1963, with giants such as Federico Fellini, Alfred Hitchcock, Gregory Peck and Burt Lancaster in attendance. French poet Andre Morois kisses her hand on the red carper with the words "You affected me!" The criticism and envy leveled at her is quelled. The tremendous success of "Tobacco" makes her a household name in Bulgaria. Her second iconic film role will be anything but effortless. Vulo Radev, having been director of photography in several of her films, makes his directorial debut with a film version of Emilian Stanev's novel "The Peach-Garden Trespasser". Set just after WWI, the film is about a Serbian prisoner of war who sneaks into a Bulgarian colonel's private garden, meeting his wife there by chance and starting a torrid love affair with her. Nevena's beauty and her recent success fan the flames of envy and Radev has to put his reputation on the line and assume a tremendous financial risk to cast her. Moreover, she is in the middle of a theatrical engagement in the Satirical theatre in Sofia under director Metodi Andonov, at the same time that she is desperately needed to film "The Peach-Garden Trespasser" in Veliko Tarnovo. With Andonov's help, Kokanova manages to shoot for the film while still performing nightly in Sofia. Despite the tremendous risk of her being fired from the theatre, she is driven by car to Veliko Tarnovo (some 4 hours) after every performance in Sofia. She is filming until noon the following day, when she is driven back to be on stage again at 8 pm. Needless to say, this puts a tremendous physical strain on the young actress, who has very little time for sleep. By the end of the 60's, Kokanova is the most prolific Bulgarian film actress and a fashion icon. She's offered four roles in East Germany and accepts a terrific role in Italian director Liliana Cavani's "Galileo" in 1969. The next decade, spent on stage and on screen, is a happy one for Kokanova, resulting in some of her best work. She appears in films such as "The Boy Turns Man" (1972) opposite Filip Trifonov, "The Weddings of King Ioan Asen" (1975), the last film appearance of Apostol Karamitev and "Ladies' Choice") (1980), an ensemble comedy alongside Stefan Danailov, Tzvetana Maneva, Doroteya Toncheva and Maria Statulova. However, this decade ends with a crushing blow. In July of 1979, while directing "Three Deadly Sins", her husband Lyubomir dies of a heart attack. Devastated, she occupies herself with caring for their daughter Teodora and completes the film in his stead. In the stagnation and standstill that descends on the arts after the fall of Communism in 1989, and without any work prospects, she retreats to a village in the Balkan Mountains, rebuilding a small cottage and claiming sanctuary there. Kokanova continues to act, marking a belated 60th birthday in 1999 with a performance in the theatre "Revival". Days later, she is honored in the Hall of Cinema by a concert in her honor. Highlight reels of her great movie roles are shown and toasts are made to her health. Unbeknownst to everyone except her, these toasts are futile. She has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer several years earlier. By the end of 1999, she is a shadow of her former self, but ready to face her final challenge, her ultimate role, with grace and resolve. Nevena Kokanova, the radiant, lovely, loved, irreplaceable first lady of Bulgarian cinema, died on June 3, 2000 at the age of 62, immortalized on the silver screen and in the heart of a nation.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Georgi Cherkelov was a Bulgarian stage and film actor. He is one of the most prominent names in the Bulgarian theater and cinema in the last decades. Born as Georgi Ivanov Cherkelov on June 25, 1930, in the city of Haskovo, Bulgaria, he initially began studying law at the Sofia University, where he remained for three years before transferring to the National Academy for Theater and Film where he graduated in 1956. Cherkelov started his stage career in the Vratza theater. His film debut was in the 1961 film The Last Round. During the fifty years of his career, he has appeared in more than 100 roles on stage and in about 70 films. He became widely popular after the role of the anti-communist police inspector Velinski in the TV series At Every Kilometer (1969). Cherkelov appeared in many of the major Bulgarian film productions. He played the leading roles in Men on a business trip (1969), Warmth (1978), The Judge (1986). He was also in many German and Italian film co-productions. He has directed the TV film "Last Stop - Berlin" (1983). While continuing to perform on the stage of the National Theater where he has worked for decades, Cherkelov was also the artistic director of the Dramatic Theater in Pleven (1985-1990). Georgi Cherkelov was one of the most prominent Shakespearean actors in Bulgaria, with memorable performances as King Lear, Richard II, Mercutio, Banco and many other major roles. He has played almost the entire repertoire of the British bard - a privilege many actors dream of, but only a few are given. Cherkelov's style was intelligent, with expressions based on subtle nuances, heavy pauses and solidly spoken phrases. His trademark was inborn dignity, loaded calm and incredible presence - unique personal characteristics of this great actor, which he infused into the characters he played. In addition to being an extraordinary actor, Georgi Cherkelov has also staged a number of plays. Among the plays he directed are "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1982), "Wrestlers" (1981), "Huckleberry Finn" (1985), "Catcher in the Rye" (1998). Some of the adaptations for these plays he had written himself. In 2010 his book "Stories and emails" was published by Locus Publishing. In 2001, Georgi Cherkelov was decorated with the highest government prize, the Order of the Balkan Mountains, awarded to Bulgarian citizens with particularly great merit to Bulgaria. In 2009, he received the award Asker for lifetime achievement. He died on February 19, 2012.- The Bulgarian actor Filip Trifonov was born on May 4, 1947. From 1969 to 1973 he studied acting at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Art, Sofia, Bulgaria in the class of Apostol Karamitev. Even before he finished his education in 1971 Filip Trifonov made his cinema debut in the film "The Test" (directed by Georgi Djulgerov). He played the main role - character Lio. Then he played the title role in "The Boy goes" (directed by Lyudmil Kirkov). Philip Trifonov has participated in over then 30 films, including "The Hare Census" (directed by Eduard Sachariev), "As a Song" (directed by Irina Aktasheva and Hristo Piskov), "Wardrobe" (based on the novel of Stanislav Stratiev; directed by Georgi Djulgerov), "Tool Is Bagpipe?" (directed by Asen Shopov), "Orchestra without a Name" (directed by Lyudmil Kirkov), "Avalanche"(directed by Irina Aktasheva and Hristo Piskov),"Forget this Case" (directed by Krasimir Spasov), "Echelons" (directed by Borislav Punchev), "Life on Demand" (directed by Kosta Bikov), "Protect Small Animals" (directed by Haim Koen),"AkaDaMuS" (directed by Georgi Djulgerov),"Rio Adio" (directed by Ivan Andonov), "Ivan and Alexandra" (directed by Ivan Nichev), "Walking with the Angel" (directed by Ivan Pavlov), "Madame Bovary from Sliven" (directed by Emil Tzanev), "Rhapsody in White" (directed by Tedi Moskov), "Bay Ganyo goes through Europe" (directed by Ivan Nichev). On stage, Philip Trifonov's debut was in the role of Andzor in "The process will take place" by A. Chheidze In Blagoevgrad Theatre in 1973. He worked in Blagoevgrad Theatre, Theatre "Sofia", "Boyana studios 2;. In 1992 he created together with director Nikolai Gunderov Natural Theatre "Trifonof & Gunderov." His performances are "Opening" and "Audience" by V. Havel and "Second Hand", "West Germany - my fatherland", "She", written by him.
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Binka Zhelyazkova was born on July 15, 1923 in the town of Svilengrad, Bulgaria. She studied theater at the National Theater Institute in Sofia. Her career as a film director began in 1957 when she co-directed her first feature film Life Goes Quietly By... with her husband Hristo Ganev.
At the end of the 1950s Binka Zhelyazkova was one of the few women in the world making feature films. Her style was influenced by Italian Neo-Realism and the French New Wave, as well as Russian Cinema.
During her career she directed seven feature and two documentary films. Four of her nine films were banned from distribution and reached audiences only after the end of communism. She was the director of the Bulgarian section of Women in Film, an organization created in 1989 after the international women in film conference, KIWI, in Tbilisi, Georgia. She stopped making films after 1989, which coincided with the fall of the communist regime in Bulgaria. For some time after that she remained active in the women in film organization but soon completely withdrew from public life.- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Vulo Radev (1 January 1923 - 28 March 2001) was a Bulgarian film director, writer and cinematographer. Radev was born in a village Lesidren. In 1953, Radev graduated from the filming faculty of the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography in Moscow. His first film, a documentary, appeared in 1952. Radev later filmed Citizens of Dimitrovgrad (1956), On the Eve (1959, adapted from I. S. Turgenev's novel), and Tobacco (1962). In his first own film, The Peach Thief (1964, adapted from Emiliyan Stanev's novella), Vulo Radev expresses his anguish for modern man (along the lines of Godart and Antonioni) through the love story between the Serbian Officer Ivo, a prisoner of war at the concentration camp of the Bulgarians, and Lisa, the wife of the city's commander - a great love story amidst the inhuman hatred of war. The critics praise the excellent artistic knowledge; sensitivity in conception and structure of the subject matter; as well as excellent guiding of actors. As a chamber piece, the drama was made in the style of the then popular realistic psychological literature. Radev used the same style in his next film The King and The General (1966), a story of the conflict between King Boris III and General Zaimov, who tried in the beginning of the World War II to prevent both Bulgarian's alliance with Germany and its entry into the war against Soviet Union. Radev broke a number of conventions in this film too. Other films directed by him include The Longest Night (1967), Doomed Souls (1975, adapted from Dimitar Dimov's novella), and The Black Angels (1970). In 1981, he directed Adaptation, a film addressing issues of insanity. Radev received the Dimitrov Prize in 1969.- Actor
- Director
- Art Director
Ivan Andonov graduated from the National Academy of Theater and Film Art in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1956. He is one of the most important Bulgarian cinema actors. Since 1965 he is a director and designer in animation. The films 'Difficulty', 'Esperanza' and 'Melodrama' bring him international awards and recognition. His début in features is in 1974 as a director of 'Difficult Love'. 'The Roof' won the Critic's Award in Varna, Bulgaria in 1978. 'White Magis' won Silver Prize in Cadiz, Spain. 'Dangerous Charm' won Grand Prix in Chianchiano, Italy, 1985 and Special Prize of the Jury in Chamrousse, France, in 1988. 'Dreamers' won First Prize in Varna, Bulgaria. 'Yesterday' won the Viewers, Award in Varna, Bulgaria, Grand Prix in San Remo, Italy, 1989, and Best Director Award in Moscow, 1989.- George Ganchev, whose birth name is Gheorghi Petroushev, was born on 29 August 1939 in Plovdiiv. In the early 1960s he emigrated from Bulgaria. He graduated from the British Fencing Academy and the Hollywood Theatrical Institute. In the period 1973 - 1988 he was engaged in directing, play-writing, film and play producing in Great Britain and the United States. Ganchev claims to be the author of seven Hollywood screen plays and plays produced in Hollywood, to have written books and poetry. In 1970 and 1974 he became world champion in professional fencing. He also performed as actor, has been a basketball player. Published in Bulgaria is his autobiography "George". According to his own public statements, his hobbies are horses, music, and poetry. He became actively engaged in Bulgaria's political life after 10 November 1989. Leader of the Bulgarian Business Bloc /BBB/ since its establishment on 24 November 1990. George Ganchev ran for president in the January 1992 election and received 17 percent of the vote, which ranks him third among the candidates in the first round. Chair of the Committee on Radio, Television and the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency in the 37th National Assembly (Dec. 1994-Apr. 1995). In the presidential election of 2001, he received 3.38 percent of the vote. Ganchev speaks English. Divorced, with two daughters who live in the United States.
- Vladimir Smirnov was born on 22 June 1941 in Chernogorsk, Khakasskaya AO, Krasnoyarskiy kray, RSFSR, USSR [now Khakassia, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Sbogom, priyateli! (1970), Front ohne Gnade (1984) and Pervorossiyanye (1967). He was married to Bogdana Marinova and Silvia Spassova. He died on 10 August 2000 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- Production Manager
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Janine M. Clark was born on 23 November 1967 in Lynwood, California, USA. She was a production manager and producer, known for Descent Into Darkness (2002), Antibody (2002) and Daybreak (2000). She died on 11 September 2001 in Sofia, Bulgaria.- Director
- Writer
Leon Daniel Abraham is Bulgarian theater director of Jewish origin. He was born on February 17, 1927 in Rousse, Bulgaria. He graduated directing in the class of Veysbrem and Galin at Leningrad State Theatre Institute in 1952. He debuted in the Drama Theatre Ruse as a director in 1952 with "Philistine" by Maxim Gorky. In subsequent years he worked in the Drama Theatre Ruse / 1952 - 1957 /, Drama Theatre Burgas / 1957 - 1960 /, Bulgarian National Television / 1960 - 1961 /, Theatre "Bulgarian army" / 1961 - 1963 and then in 1982/, Theatre "People's stage" / 1963 - 1964 /, Documentary Film's Studio / 1964 - 1965 /, Theatre of Poetry and Bandstand / 1965 - 1968/ Drama Theatre-Vratsa / 1968 - 1971 /, State Music Theater / 1972 - 1978 /, Theatre "Sofia" / 1978 - 1982 /. From 1981 to 1986 he worked as artistic consultant to the Drama Theatre Pazardzhik. Leon Daniel has realized over 50 productions. Among notable performances are "Three Sisters" and "The Cherry Orchard" by Chekhov, "Aesop" of Figeyredo, "The visit of the Old Lady" by Dürrenmatt, "Hamlet," "As You Like It," "Labour's Lost Love" and "Twelfth night" by Shakespeare, "Mr. Puntilla and his servant Matti" and "Fear and misery in the Third Reich" by Brecht, "Waiting for Godot" by Beckett, "Small tragedies" by Pushkin, "Guild" and "On the bottom " by Gorky," The disciple of the devil ", " Pygmalion ", " The profession of Mrs. Warren " by Bernard Shaw, " When roses dance "and" Fair musketeer " by Valeri Petrov," Easter wine "," Nirvana "," Basil for Draginko ", " Odysseus travels to Ithaca ", " Goodbye's Red Wine "," Window" by Konstantin Iliev, "Art" by Yasmina Reza. Leon Daniel was a part of the so-called "Great Four" in Burgas Drama Theatre, worked in the late 60th. Leon Daniel makes three documentaries and a movie "On a purely". He is an author of TV shows. His performances have been involved in Bulgarian and foreign festivals, visiting abroad. He is the author of the books: "Theatre and the spectator" (S. 1964); "Journey to the theater" (S. 1975); "Theatrical Essays" (S. 1979); "Drawer director" (S. 1988); "Prose essays. (Attempted memoirs) "(S.1997). In "Theatre and spectator 'author opens his directorial" drawers ". In the "Games" the director talks about the performances of their lives. Theatre of Leon Daniel is his own personality, he created a school and a remarkable pedagogue, not taught in the Theatre Academy. He remained indisputable figure in reversals of being; in which Daniel is himself, with his talents and values of art. He is a winner of the honorary Union of Bulgarian Actors' Award / 2007 / for overall activity, as well as many awards for theater: The Award "Asker" for overall contribution to theater in the category "For outstanding contribution to theater / 1992 /, The Award " Asker" for" The man who makes the rain "by Nathaniel Richard Nash in National Theatre" Ivan Vazov " / 1997 /; The Award "Honorary Asker" for honor and creative contribution to the development of theater / 2008 /. He was awarded the Order "Stara Planina" - first degree / 2003 / for overall contribution to Bulgarian culture. Among his many awards are the First Award of the review of Chamber theaters and Award of the National Academy of Arts. He was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the National Academy for Theatre and Film Art (2003 /. He died on December 2, 2008 in Sofia.- Actor
- Writer
Bulgarian stage and film actor, singer and showman. He graduated from "Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts" as an actor, just as many talented actors from Bulgaria did. Began his career in 1965, Kolev was best known for his roles in comedies like "Opasen Char", "Gospodin Za Edin Den" and "Dvoynikat" as well as for his songs and shows. His unique kind of acting won general approval in his country. In some ways, pretty much reminds Charlie Chaplin.
After the collapse of communism, he get involved in politics for a while and was a Member of Parliament.
Todor Kolev suffered from Lung Cancer for several years and died at the age of 73.- Specializing in intense psychological dramas, Bulgarian filmmaker Metodi Andonov is best remembered for making one of his country's most popular films, The Goat Horn (1972). He also directed a pair of high-grossing detective dramas based on the novels and screenplays of Bogomil Rainov, There's Nothing Finer Than Bad Weather (1971) and The Great Boredom (1973). Andonov graduated from the Sofia Academy of Dramatic Art in 1955 after studying theater direction. Before entering the film industry, he directed productions at the Dramatic Theater in Burgas and at the Satirical Theater in Sofia. Andonov made his feature directorial debut in 1968 with The White Room, which was based on a Rainov novel. In addition to his work in theater and cinema, Andonov occasionally directed for television.
- Todor Zhivkov was born on 7 September 1911 in Pravets, Bulgaria. He died on 5 August 1998 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- Director
- Writer
- Production Designer
Christo Christov (11 April 1926 - 16 April 2007) was a Bulgarian film director and screenwriter. Before entering the theatre and film industry, Christov earned a medical degree in 1952. He graduated in Drama Directing at National Academy of Theatre and Film Art, Sofia, Bulgaria (1959) after studying theater direction. Between 1958 and 1966, Christov was a stage designer and director at the Plovdiv Theater. Between 1966 and 1967, Christov worked at Mosfilm Studios as an apprentice to several film directors, including Marlen Khutsiev and Mikhail Romm. Christo Christov made two of the seminal films in his country's cinema, Iconostasis (1969, in collaboration with Todor Dinov) and Last Summer (1974). Christo Christov was a professor in film and TV directing at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Art, Sofia, Bulgaria. He was a member of European Film Academy. He directed 19 films between 1969 and 1997. In 1973, he was a member of the jury at the Eighth Moscow International Film Festival. His film Cyclops (1976) was entered into the 27th Berlin International Film Festival. His film The Barrier (1979) won the Silver Prize at the 11th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1981, his film The Truck (1980) was entered into the 31st Berlin International Film Festival. His film Reference (1985) was entered into the 14th Moscow International Film Festival. In addition to his work in theater and film, Christov also works in television. From 1974 to 1982, he served as the Chairman of the Union of Bulgarian Film Workers.- Ari Leschnikoff was born on 16 June 1897 in Haskovo, Bulgaria. He was an actor, known for Ich bei Tag und du bei Nacht (1932), Three from the Filling Station (1930) and Bombs Over Monte Carlo (1931). He was married to Sashka Siderova and Delphine David. He died on 31 July 1978 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- Director
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
As a child Ivaylo Dzhambazov played in several Bulgarian children films. In 1984 he graduated from VGIK (State Institue Of Cinema Art), Moscow, Russia in Film Directing in the classes of Prof. Igor Talankin. From 1985 to 1987 he worked at the Boyana Film as an assistant director. He is author of documentaries, feature novelettes and TV programs.- Djoko Rosic (born Dzhordzhe Mirko Rosic) was born on 28 February 1932 in Krupanj, which was then part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, to a Bulgarian mother and a Serbian father. In 1951 he emigrated to Bulgaria and graduated in Economy, but completed also courses in Radio Journalism. After that he worked for 17 years as a journalist for the Bulgarian National Radio. He has acted in Bulgarian, Hungarian and Serbian films. He has been called "the legendary cowboy". He has acted in more than 110 films, The Eighth (1969), Aesop (1970), My Father the House-Painter (1974), Ivan Kondarev (1974), Captain Petko Voivode (1981), Khan Asparouh (1981), The Judge (1986), Time of Violence (1988), After the End of the World (1988), Tuvalu (1999), Zift (2008), Prima Primavera (2009), to name but a few. He received the Cyril and Methodius, 1st degree state order. In February 2010 the Ministry of Culture discerned the Golden Age Award to him for his outstanding merits to Bulgarian films. He was married to Lilyana Lazarova. He died on February 21, 2014 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- Luchezar Dimitrov Stoyanov is a Bulgarian theater and cinema actor. He was born in Sofia. In 1965, he graduated at Lazar Dobrich studios for circus artists. Then he was accepted into the class of Professor Dr. Krustyu Mirsky in National Academy for Theatre and Film Art, Sofia, Bulgaria. He graduated it and became an actor in drama theaters, but more popularity has brought him his participation in Bulgarian movies. He has played in more than thirty future films. Among his friends he was known as Luco the Stunt (Lucho Kaskadata). He died on June 3, 1991 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- Director
- Writer
Nevena Tosheva ranks among the most outstanding creative talents of Bulgarian documentary film. She stands out as a keen observer of the human condition, always placing people and their predicaments front and center in her work. As a documentary film director she deals in facts and events, but for Tosheva, each individual is in command of the creative process, carving out his own place in society. Her films explore contemporary social issues, often giving her viewers a new way of looking at, and thinking about, her subjects. Despite covering a very wide thematic range, her body of work is held together by a consistent focus on the nature of social phenomena and the psychology of individual behavior. Tosheva says that humans are "a center of conflicts, processes and contradictions." She is attracted by ordinary people, their problems, and all of the things that make up their individual lives. For her, good documentary cinema has to be very close to people and their contemporary reality. Nevena Tosheva started her career in 1956 making newsreels, a fitting genre for a budding documentary film maker. She made her documentary debut with Three Teachers, for which she was both director and screenwriter. Then followed more than fifty documentaries in which she showed her great talent as a passionate observer of the human condition. Whether her subject was the everyday life of a common man or a great personality in Bulgarian history, she always dug deep into the motivations that lay behind the actions. Tosheva's films have received prestigious awards at national and international festivals. Her early film Etude (1964) won awards at The Bulgarian National Film Festival in Varna and at the International Film Festivals in Bergamo and Cannes. Then followed a series of wonderful documentaries such as The Team (1976), winner of the Special Jury Award at the1977 International Short Film Featival in Moscow, and Teachers, winner of the Golden Thracian Rhyton at the 1982 Festival of Short Films in Plovdiv. Tosheva also won the Film Critics Award for Sofia of the Future and The Teacher, as well as a special award for her overall contribution to the development of Bulgarian documentary film. The Bulgarian government bestowed on her the title Honored Artist in 1976. The Phenomenon (1977) generated great interest and inspired many debates about the Baba Vanga phenomenon and her prophetic ability. The film included statements from Vanga herself as well as words from scientists who had studied her prophecies. Some of them rejected Vanga's prophetic power, while others admitted her talent for prediction. The Phenomenon shows very well the potential role of documentary cinema in examining controversial topics fairly, without the conditional burden of satisfying preconceived notions. Nevena Tosheva is the pride of the Bulgarian documentary cinema . Her films are moving stories about the problems and the emotions of ordinary people. They are uncompromisingly honest, protective of the truth, and passionate in recognition of the good. NevenaTosheva is a Winner of the 2012 Life Achievement Award of the Bulgarian Film Academy- Writer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Valeri Nissim Mevorah, better known by his pen-name, Valeri Petrov, was born on April 22, 1920, in Sofia to a Jewish father and Bulgarian mother. Besides poems, novels and translations from Russian, Italian and English, Petrov authored numerous film scripts and plays - both for adults and for children. During World War II, he took part in the resistance against the pro-Nazi regime in Bulgaria and remained close to left-wing political thought through his life. In 1970, he clashed with the communist regime in Bulgaria after refusing to sign an official petition denouncing the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn. As a result, Petrov was not allowed to publish for years, so he turned to translating. Petrov was held in high esteem in his country and after the collapse of the totalitarian regime in 1989, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature by Bulgaria's Writers' Union.- Katya Todorova Chukova is a Bulgarian actress . She was born on March 31, 1931 in Batak, Bulgaria . She graduated in "acting" in National Academy for Theatre and Film Art, Sofia, Bulgaria in the class of Professor Filip Filipov in 1953, then she worked in the Varna Drama Theatre, and later in the Theatre "Tears and Laughter". Among her roles are Maria in "Twelfth Night"; Natasha in "Three Sisters," The Commissar in "Optimistic tragedy"; Albena in "Albena"and Boryana in "Boryana"by Yordan Yovkov; Maslarska in "Millionaire"; Sultana in "Iron Candlestick" by Dimitar Talev. Among the many films with her participation are "Under the Yoke" (1952), "Heroes of Shipka" (1955), "Specialist in Everything" (1962), "Elf's Dance" (1976), "Matriarchy" (1977), "Illusion "(1980)," Forest People "(1985)," Rio Adio "(1989)," Vampires, Ghouls "(1992). She was awarded with the title of Honored Artist and the Order "Cyril and Methodius" - 2 degrees. She died on June 11, 2012 in Sofia after a long illness.