A serious scandal shook the 44th edition of the Bulgarian feature film festival "Golden Rose" in Varna. The director of the hit series "Mamnik" Viktor Bozhinov announced a boycott, making serious accusations about the processes in the domestic cinema. At the same time, the organizers did not remain indifferent, but responded categorically that they had nothing to justify themselves for, reports Show Blitz.
At the center of the tension was the special presentation of the final 10th episode of "Mamnik".
The episode actually appears in the official program of the festival, as "Mamnik" is part of the selection for series. However, the versions of what happened differ.
Victor Bozhinov announced that the team that arrived to present “Mamnik“ boycotted the screening and stated: “We cannot be a screen“. The initial publications on the subject even reported that the screening itself did not take place.
However, “Golden Rose“ gives a different version.
“We broadcast the series, only the actors were not at the press conference. Everything is according to the rules and we have no reason to justify anything to Mr. Bozhinov. We have an international jury that decides which series and film to award. "He didn't win an award, but that's the situation," festival PR Kremena Dimitrova told "Bulgaria Today."
The director made serious accusations about the way in which, in his opinion, certain processes in Bulgarian cinema function. According to him, even at the start of work on "Mamnik," an attempt was made to remove the project from the session of the National Film Center for Series, although according to Bozhinov, the production received the highest rating from the artistic committee. This is a statement by the director, set out in his public position.
Bozhinov also drew a parallel with another of his successful series - "Vina." He claims that this production was also the subject of an attempt to remove it from the “Golden Rose“ some time ago, linking what happened to “preliminary arrangements“.
“We will not serve as a “screen“ for such processes“, is the position of the director, who also sharply criticized the state of Bulgarian cinema.
The festival also disputed this part of his claims.
“The series “Vina“ was also broadcast on the “Golden Rose“, I have no idea why these claims by Mr. Bozhinov are being made“, commented Kremena Dimitrova.
Even before the boycott, tension surrounding the presentation of “Mamnik“ also caused the advertising vision for the screening. The author of the novel Vasil Popov publicly expressed his bewilderment as to why artificial intelligence was used for the poster, given that the series has enough professionally filmed material.
„I don't understand why it was necessary to use artificial intelligence for the poster, considering that there is enough great footage from the series“, commented the writer. Popov, however, made it clear that he did not want his name to be involved in the larger conflict.
„I am mainly interested in my books and how I present them, the rest is the job of the producers and director of the series“, he explained.
In the end, „Mamnik“ did not receive the main award for a series at the 44th „Golden Rose“. The official winner in the category is „The Rain Leaves Traces“ with main screenwriter Alexander Chobanov and directors Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov. According to the jury's reasons, the award is for the original concept and the careful construction of the world of events.