In your new film "Made in EU" you direct the spotlight to some problems that were in the focus of public attention during the pandemic - the shortage of doctors, especially in small towns, the exploitation of people in some industries such as tailoring. But after that they seemed to remain on the periphery again. Why do we ignore problems that are right before our eyes?
Stefan Komandarev: Because they are inconvenient and because generations have grown up who are more interested in a false reality in the digital world and in reality programs than in what is happening in the real world. The second is that it is much easier to turn to the other side, to neglect these problems, without realizing that in this way you become an accomplice.
How did you come to this issue?
Stefan Komandarev: Open Clean Clothes Campaign and search for "Bulgaria" in the search engine. Their 2019 study shocked me. I decided to make a film on this topic because they compare our country to the situation in Bangladesh, for example, which is very shocking. We were looking for a dramatic line to include in the film, and with Covid it came naturally. At one point, news began to appear in the media about outbreaks in textile factories and workshops in the countryside, about seamstresses who, in order not to lose half their salary, which is a "presence bonus", hide that they are sick and drink Panadol to bring down their temperature before going to work. This "presence bonus" turned out to be real and is most common in the Rhodope region, so that workers do not miss work.
What part of the details that you show - such as the "presence bonus" and the agreement between doctors and local businessmen not to issue sick leaves - are reality?
Stefan Komandarev: With the screenwriter Simeon Ventsislavov, with whom we have been working for many years, we have long said that there is no greater screenwriter than real life. I do not think that a screenwriter can invent a "presence bonus". When we walked around the places where there are such factories and got acquainted with the investigations on the subject, we also saw this phenomenon with doctors who should not give them sick leave. I heard about a case of a worker accused of "bringing the infection".
Most of it is real stuff, and of course the project was presented at many European project markets and then we developed it at the Mediterranean Film Institute. Finally, we spent months rehearsing with the actors and I always try to involve them with suggestions, so they become co-authors of the film.
The film is a Bulgarian-German-Czech co-production and was greeted with a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. What do you think is the reason for the interest of the foreign audience?
Stefan Komandarev: Once again, it turned out that we are not that unique. In the discussion in Venice, they told me that it is the same in Southern Italy, the phenomenon of modern slavery is there too. It is more important that things are authentic.
"We do not have the market capitalism we dreamed of"
However, there is one aspect that is very strongly present in Bulgaria - the feudal system in small settlements, a system that you show very well. Certain people control all life in these cities and villages. We see it very clearly during elections, which is where the controlled vote comes from. Do you see a way out of this situation?
Stefan Komandarev: We do not have the market capitalism we dreamed of. We have an oligarchic model. An entrepreneur - a risk-taker and honest - can hardly break through this network of interdependencies, part of which is both feudalism and the controlled vote. The only way is through mass voting, which, given the 60-65% who go mushroom picking, I don't know how that could happen.
Do these problems inspire you or do you have to fight despair?
Stefan Komandarev: I wouldn't say they make me despair, because I receive a very big award that gives meaning - the reactions and meetings with the audience. I can't compare anything to the eyes of the people I meet and the words I hear after a screening. Even after the screening in Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture, a group of people from the audience came to me on a bus to talk about the film. That gives meaning.
What's next for the film?
Stefan Komandarev: Tomorrow is the French premiere of the festival in Arras. In four days, the Spanish premiere will be at the Gijón festival, and from there the film will continue to travel to festivals, which is very important because contracts for distribution in cinemas are being signed. We are also preparing for the most important release in cinemas - to the Bulgarian audience, which is on November 21.
What's next for Stefan Komandarev - what stories do you want to tell and show on screen?
Stefan Komandarev: We are preparing two stories. One is close to my first specialty - medicine. We have a project for a feature film called "Block Universe" about an ambulance team - a doctor and a driver - at different stages of their lives. From the moment they are 20 and a few years old and are new recruits in the "Ambulance" on November 10, 1989, we go through the protests in 1997, New Year's Eve in 2007, when Bulgaria joined the European Union, then the other protests in 2013. We are trying to enter a new genre - social sci fi - and the last episode is in the near future - in 2030.
I also have a documentary project about the rise and fall of Bulgarian electronics, which, however, has been blocked for almost a year by appeals at the National Film Center competition.
"The biggest misconception is that we should not criticize"
Ivaylo Hristov's character in "Made in EU" says: Even during communism, we realized that everything they tell us about communism is a lie. Then we realized that everything they told us about capitalism was true". What is the biggest misconception today?
Stefan Komandarev: The biggest misconception is that we should not criticize and try to change things. I am from that generation that lived part of its life before 1989, and it is very important that we also have critical voices now and say what needs to change for the better, including with regard to the great dream of our generation - our membership in the European Union. I heard a very interesting remark from a spectator during the discussion at the Thessaloniki Festival: "As far as I remember, Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007. So this year you are 18 years old, i.e. you have already come of age. Maybe it's time to stop being obedient children, and to want your voice to be heard a little more."
And like any adult, let's take responsibility.
Stefan Komandarev: Exactly!
Author: Alexander Detev