Crossroads Catalogue 2009

BULGARIAThe JudgmentCreditsProduced by: Argo FilmDirector: Stephan KomandarevScriptwriter: Stephan Komandarev,Marin DamianovCo-Producers: LE Vision (Germany)Budget: 1.500.000 EurosStephan KomandarevDirectorContactName of Company: Argo FilmAddress: 5B, Iantra str. 1124 Sofia, BulgariaT: +359 2 944 96 48, M: +359 878 308 238komandarev@abv.bgwww.theworldisbig.comwww.badantewomen.comSelected FilmographyThe Town of Badante women (doc), 2009The War (short), 2008The World is Big and Salvation LurksAround the Corner, 2008Alphabet of Hope (doc), 2003Dogs’ Home, 2000Synopsis25 years ago at the Bulgarian-Turkish border Boyko took part in the murder of a young man and a youngwoman from the German Democratic Republic who wanted to escape the socialist regime. Today he isconvinced that he is being punished – his 7-year-old daughter is very sick. In order to find money for thetreatment he has to smuggle illegal immigrants in the other direction – from Turkey to Bulgaria and theEU. Fate puts him in the same position as 25 years ago. At the same place. Should he save or sacrifice thelives of a couple of immigrants? How can he atone for his sin in order to find forgiveness and save his child?Director’s StatementIt is my deep conviction that in Bulgaria today there is one very important and current topic – the topicof repentance and forgiveness. Of punishment. Of the sins that were committed in the past and are stillcommitted today. This is what my film is about.A while ago I spent a lot of time in one of the most interesting regions of Bulgaria – the Southeast – a placewhere three borders meet – the Bulgarian, the Greek and the Turkish. In this area I shot 3 documentaryfilms: “Bread Over the Fence” – (2002), “Alphabet of Hope” (2003) and “The Town of Badante Women” (2009).Across this border, twenty years ago, refugees from the communist block looked for a way to the West.Nowadays, across the same border, but in the opposite direction, refugees from Asia, the Near East andAfrica seek for illegal ways to enter the Promised Land of the European Union. The characters and eventsdescribed in the project are real.20