Ivan Tonev

Kaloyan

1197. King Kaloyan ascends the throne in hard times for Bulgaria. The country is still recovering from a century of Byzantine subjugation. He is forced to carry out a very flexible foreign policy in order to strength his positions. Pope Innocent III recognizes him as Emperor (Tsar), but a little later the fourth Crusade crosses the country under Emperor Baldwin. A new conflict is coming. Tsar Kaloyan wages the decisive battle at Adrianople and wins.

On a Quiet Evening

Chased by the military police force, the partisans Boyka and Anton take refuge in a cave. A grenade explosion dislodges the rock, which seals off the passage.

Under the Yoke

Follows the Bulgarian people's struggle for national independence in the period from 1875 to the Liberation from Otoman bondage.

Geratzite

Gaffer Yordan the Gerak is a wealthy farmer with a large family. The Geraks live in harmony as long as his wife is alive. After her death, disagreement and strife erupt among them. Two of the sons, Bozhan and Peter, demand the partition of their father's real estate. The third son, Pavel, who is doing his military service in the town, has become estranged from the land and from his family. When Pavel returns home only to ask money from his father, Gaffer Yordan discovers that he has been robbed. His sons trade accusations and come to blows. Pavel goes back to his mistress in the city. Elka, Pavel's wife, falls ill with a venereal disease she has contracted from his husband. On a dark and stormy night Elka is about to drown herself in the river when the Gerak's old farmhand takes her back home. Before long, Elka dies, as does Gaffer Yordan. Bozhan fells the centenarian pine tree in the yard of the family home, which symbolized the patriarchal ways of the Geraks.

History Lesson

In 1933 Berlin, Bulgarian communist Georgi Dimitrov is caught up in the Reichstag fire trials when Nazis seek to frame communists. Despite orchestrated provocations and mass repression, Dimitrov’s defiant courtroom defense exposes the baseless charges, forcing his acquittal and securing him political asylum in the Soviet Union.

The Journey

Bari, a city caught in the relentless economic crisis. Ivo is an agronomist, but the lack of opportunities pushes him to accept a job in the fertile region of Banat in Romania. Clara has just ended a relationship and is about to lose her job at the Bari harbor. Ivo and Clara meet by chance and seem to immediately understand each other. They spend only one night together before Ivo's departure, but that is enough to create a bond and wanting to meet again. When Clara visits him in Romania, they fall in love. But is exile their only way to happiness?

Rhapsody in White

This is a film about the fight against the terrible invincible enemy - the banality of life. Chekhovian provincial hopelessness will creep in, broken by sharp turns of Chaplin-esque humor. A bow to silent cinema and Chekhov.

Song of Man

Scenes from the life and revolutionary activity of poet Nikola Vaptzarov are shown against the background of political life in Bulgaria on the eve of World War II.