Stephan Komandarev

Roman returns to the land near the Ukrainian border he has just inherited from his grandfather. Fully decided to sell this vast but desolate property, he is warned by the local cop that his grandfather was a local crime lord and his men will not let go of the land - and their smuggling business - without a fight.

The story of Alex, who, with the help of his charismatic grandfather, embarks on a journey in search of his real self.

When a sick factory worker becomes the first confirmed COVID-19 case in her rural Bulgarian town, she is scapegoated and ostracized by her employers, family, and entire community as the virus spreads and casualties mount.

Blaga is a seventy-year-old recently widowed former teacher and a woman of firm morals. When telephone scammers con her out of the money that she had saved for her husband’s grave, her moral compass slowly begins to lose its bearings…

After years of saving from the petty bribes they collect, sixty-year-old Marina and Gosha from Bulgaria dream of travelling to Saint Petersburg for the White Nights. When Russia invades Ukraine and the travel agency vanishes with all their savings, their dream collapses along with their illusion of control over their morals and their relationship.

This is the story of Mityo and his son Vasko, who live in a poor area, near to the Bulgarian-Turkish-Greek Border. Mityo had lost everything that has mattered to him – his wife, his work, the confidence of his son, Vasko. In order to get him back, Mityo has to find forgiveness and pay for his sin, done 25 years ago.

A few stories about sailors, rich in dramatic tension and flashes of humour, taking place in the span of one year along the coast and in the waters of the Black Sea. Due to the EU’s programme for reducing finishing cutters, Alexander agreed to have his ship destroyed… The day after the destruction Alexander starts building a new boat. A year later it is ready. Dimitar has spent 45 years at sea. In 1987 he bought a VHS Camcorder and for years recorded the life on the ships around the world. Hristo’s fishing vessel is taken in 2012, near to the Romanian coast, on charges of poaching. The lawsuits go on for years. Zoya and Plamen are teachers. To survive on their meager salaries they have been going out to sea in their fishing boat to catch rapa whelks for years. The wife is the captain of the boat, Plamen is the diver, who looks for whelks.

A road movie set in present day Bulgaria, a country remains optimistic, mainly because all the realists and pessimists have left. At a meeting with his banker, a small business owner, who drives a cab to make ends meet, discovers the bribe he will have to pay to get a loan has doubled. The ethics board that reviewed his complaint about extortion now wants its share of the action. At his wit's end, he shoots the banker and then himself. The incident sparks national debate on talk radio about how despair has taken over civil society. Meanwhile, six taxi drivers and their passengers move through the night, each in hope of finding a brighter way forward.