Svetoslav Draganov

For her 70th birthday, Bulgarian actress Maria Statulova is preparing an unusual gift for herself. She is reviving the most important and difficult monodrama of her career - “Nadezhda the Blind” (Nadezhda is both a given name and the Bulgarian word for “hope”). The rehearsals become a journey through the memories of Maria’s friendships and roles across five decades on stage and film sets. Dear Maria is a warm film about the actress’s intimate world beyond the curtain: her closest people, beloved balcony flowers, her hoarse laughter, and her tireless pursuit of being “even more human”.