20
Feb
2017

"Izvan Patya" by Nikolai Volev - with a gala premiere at the 21st Sofia Film Fest

The newest feature film "Izvan Patya" by the script-writer and director of "Dvoinikat," "Gospodin za edin den," "Da obichash na inat," "Margarit i Margarita" and many more beloved films and documentaries  Nikolai Volev, will be shown at the 21st International Sofia film Fest at the gala premiere, organized in partnership with the National Palace of culture, which is one of the co-producers of the film.


The story is about a playwright with a former glory, searching for his lost inspiration in the breathtaking beauty of the Bulgarian mountains. During one of his expeditions, he unexpectedly meets a lovely muse on the verge of womanhood. The proximity between the 19-year-old Gypsy Sally and 55-year-old Stephen grows into a strong attachment. Their sensuous connection runs along the edge of the razor and causes deep suffering to the long and devoted wife of the playwright, the actress Lydia.


"The storyline is a contemporary love story. It tells about the problems of a long-married couple, about aging, about the wearing out of creativity, the need for freshness in personal relationships, as well as the choice for a path in life - whether to preserve ones spirituality, or chase the materialistic, money ... -  says Volev about his new film. - The basic idea (for the film) was born when I swapped Strandja and the sea for Bansko.  To my delight, some purity has remained in this area. The nature influenced me with hope, preserved and  not destroyed by contemporary and profiteering gusts. "

The director of photography is Orlin Ruevski and starring are Dejan Donkov, Sally Ibrahim and Anya Pencheva.


Nikolai Volev was born on April 10, 1946 in Sofia. He studied architecture and graduated in Film Directing at the London Institute of Cinematography in 1972. The first time he held a camera was in London and as he says : "with a wonderful  prewar Leica,  I preferred to capture genuine things, moments of everyday life. I was hoping to catch something that suggested the nature of man." In 1985 his documentary film "Earthenware" won the Silver Dragon at the Krakow Film Festival and the Silver Rython for best Bulgarian documentary film in Plovdiv. The very same year he won the Special Jury Prize and Don Quixote Prize at Karlovy Vary for the film "For Love," which was named Best Bulgarian Film for 1985. Two years later, he won the Nordrein-Westfalen Award at Oberhausen Film Festival for his documentary "Home No. 8" (1986). From 2000 to 2006 he was a member of the Board of Directors of "Boyana Film" studios. His filmography includes the films: "Dvoinikat" /The Double (1980)/, "Gospodin za edin den" /Mister for a Day (1983)/, "Da obichash na inat" /All For Love (1986)/, "Margarit i Margarita" /Margarit and Margarita (1989)/ "Koziyat Rog" /The Goat Horn (1994)/, "Vechniyat Lubovnik" /An Eternal lover (1999)/, "Ogledalatoto na Dyavola" / The Devil's Mirror  (2001)/.


"Professional experience does not matter, it accumulates in a relatively short time. Experience of life, however, is important - soul, heart, feelings, ideas, thoughts, mastery. To understand people more, to peer into their hidden corners. And when you show this strange world and the audience says: "Ah, what do you know!". Art should stimulate feelings. I make feature films and documentaries, though they are completely different. What unites them is one thing - love. If there is no love - to the team, the theme, the characters, nothing happens. Without love, nothing happens."
Nikolay Volev (Tema magazine, 2006)

The premiere of "Izvan Patya" will be on March 11th, Hall No.1 of the National Palace of Culture.