In Rangel Valchanov's cinema, childhood is not just a memory, but a way of looking at the world. In “The Patent Shoes of the Unknown Warrior“ children's visions, rural images and the worries of an adult meet in one of the most personal films in Bulgarian cinema. Its author was born on October 12, 1928, in the village of Krivina, near Sofia.
Valchanov graduated from theater directing with Professor Boyan Danovski at the VITIZ “Krastyo Sarafov“ in 1953. Since 1952 he has been working at the Boyana Film Studios as an assistant director and director-producer. His first independent film was On the Small Island in 1958. The film was shot according to a script by Valeri Petrov and received awards at film festivals in Prague and Melbourne, thereby declaring the presence of Bulgarian cinema outside the country.
Director with a personal touch
After his debut came The Sun and the Shadow, The Inspector and the Night, The Little Wolf, Aesop, The Masked Face and The Investigator and the Forest. In these films, Valchanov develops a style in which drama and irony coexist. His characters are rarely unambiguous, and their stories often raise questions about choice, guilt, memory and freedom.
“The Patent Shoes of the Unknown Warrior“ from 1979 is among his most important works. The film is constructed as a memory of childhood and as a reflection on the time in which a person grows up. Later, Valchanov continues to search for the connection between personal history and society in “Where Are You Traveling?“, “And Where Are You Going Now?“ and “And Where Are You Going Today?“. He also works in documentary film, creating films about personalities and themes from Bulgarian culture.
„Anything is possible“ when there is passion
Rangel Valchanov is not only a director, but also a screenwriter, actor and writer. The Bulgarian National Radio indicates that his creative biography includes 33 Bulgarian films, 12 screenplays and 17 roles in cinema. In the last years of his life, he published three books - – „We will all die, and now cheers“, „Hurray! I am finally speechless“ and „I am both alone and there is no one“.
In an interview quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio, Valchanov said: „Anything is possible, if you fill it with the appropriate passion, talent, taste.“ This thought also contains the key to his cinema - it does not obey ready-made formulas, but seeks the living person behind the role, the memory and the public mask.
In 1995, the cinematographic community elected him Bulgaria's number 1 director of the 20th century. He received the Order of the "Stara Planina" first degree, the state award "Paisiy Hilendarski", awards for lifetime achievement and the "Golden Age" award with a necklace in 2013. Rangel Valchanov died on September 30 of the same year, but his films continue to ask the same question, which is also in the title of one of his most famous works: "And now where?"
Sources: archives.bnr.bg, bntnews.bg, bta.bg