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I’m in my hometown Sofia for the premiere of PLAMEN at the Sofia Film Festival. Both screenings, where our film was bundled with THE LESSON – a great Bulgarian feature film part of the International Competition program, were sold out and there were around a hundred people watching the film while standing up (including the Monday screening at 2PM!!). Together with director Andre Andreev, we were thrilled to see the film in the same room with people who knew Plamen and cared about his story. Thank you all for being there!
The film’s next stop is Varna, Plamen’s home town where the accident took place. The screening will be part of the Sofia Film Fest On The Road and will take place on 15 March (Sunday) at 5:30 PM, at Hall 1 of the Festival and Congress Centre, presented together with the feature film TWO DAYS AND ONE NIGHT. So, if you are in Varna, please feel invited to the screening!
This time last year I was invited by the fab guys at DRESS CODE to help them edit a short doc about Plamen Goranov, a 37-year-old Bulgarian construction worker and artist who set himself on fire as a form of political protest in Feb 2013. The film explores what led the young activist to his protest and ultimately to his death, thus setting a disturbing trend of self-immolations in the EU’s poorest country.
This week PLAMEN was selected to premiere at the Sofia Film Festival as part of the Jameson Short Film Award competition. Next stops will be Thessaloniki, Palm Springs and San Francisco. I’m looking forward to people seeing and discussing the film. Coming from Bulgaria, the story still makes me feel emotional and deeply disturbed. For more info on the upcoming screenings and more, please visit www.plamengoranovfilm.com.
Happy New Year!
Decided to use some holiday time to create an animation reel of bits of the 12 short animation videos I have produced for Nomadic Learning over the past 6 months. So here it is, more info on the fab artists behind it on this portfolio page.
Let me know what you think (probably easiest way is on Vimeo) and hope I get to collaborate with more amazing designers, animators and documentary filmmakers in 2015!
Following FATHER‘s online premiere on Short of the Week, our animated-doc has been chosen as a Vimeo Staff Pick and added to one of the most popular Vimeo channels “carefully curated and hand-picked with ♥ in NYC”.
Just 10 days in, it has been seen by over 55 thousand people!
Thanks Vimeo! Please keep watching and sharing the love!
Academy Award qualifying Death Metal Angola finally has it’s New York City theatrical premiere and iTunes release this Friday, Nov 21st!
Chose a night to remember: the 7 o’clock show on Friday will be followed by a Q&A with Director Jeremy Xido and a kick-ass After-Party organized by the Black Rock Coalition at Littlefield in Brooklyn, featuring members of The Roots and Fishbone (bring your movie ticket for a discount at the door, film + party for $20). Or the next night, Saturday, Nov 22nd, the Brooklyn pre-teen metal sensation Unlocking the Truth is playing live before and after the 7pm screening right there at Cinema Village. Either way, get your tickets now as both shows are selling out fast!
If you miss all screenings between Nov 21-27, there is always iTunes, right?
Here is also a a bit of press to help you leave the house on a cold evening:
“A cult classic” Huffington Post
“Absorbing, beautifully shot documentary… superb film” Indiewire
“Raucously crowd pleasing” The Hollywood Reporter
“An outstanding documentary” The National
“A riveting documentary from director Jeremy Xido” Empire
“Poignant and Touching” The Daily Beast
“Phenomenal…a powerful new documentary which explores the impact of extreme metal on young people in war-torn Africa” Loudwire
Feeling amazing for being part of this incredible film, see you at the movies!
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After a fabulous 2-year festival run, FATHER is finally premiering online!
We have been selected by Short of the Week – “the greatest stories of our time”, to compete for their online awards. The platform is quite popular for discovering the innovative filmmakers and storytellers of tomorrow and we hope it will give us a good initial kick for online dissemination.
So, please please please share/like/blog/tweet/comment/instagram/reddit/facebook or do anything else you can think of to help us share FATHER with as many people as possible!
And once again, congrats to the whole FATHER team!
Exciting news: FATHER, the animated-documentary I produced some time ago will finally screen in NYC this Saturday! After over 100 film festivals all over the world and 26 awards in total, the time has come thanks to the Bedford Green project – an intimate outdoor urban terrace venue in Bed Stuy, organizing live acoustic music and cinema events over the Summer.
The screening will be only a portion of a two-part independent film and music evening also featuring singer/songwriter Scott Rudd, who will perform a live headphones show and a showcase of some of his photography and short films “The Night Visitor” and “Editing Assignment”.
Hurry up and get your tickets as there is a limited number of seats and headphones (which according to the organizers provide an excellent sound experience!) and get ready to listen to a Q&A with yours truly ;) Doors open 7:00, headphones available after 7:30. Also available: food, beer and wine – hurray!
FINDING FELA, the first feature documentary film I worked on as an editing intern after graduating film school, will have its first theatrical screening at the IFC Center today, after premiering at the Sundance film festival. Directed by the amazing Alex Gibney and edited by the talented Lindy Jankura.
Finding Fela tells the story of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s life, his music, his social and political importance. He created a new musical movement, Afrobeat, using that forum to express his revolutionary political opinions against the dictatorial Nigerian government of the 1970s and 1980s. His influence helped bring a change towards democracy in Nigeria and promoted Pan Africanist politics to the world.
Listen to Fela’s genius Afrobeat and the the film’s original soundtrack on Spotify!
Detailed info on the showtimes is available on the film’s website.
Great news: my graduation documentary short Between Earth and Sky has been selected for the official program of the 28th Pärnu Film Festival. The festival will take place on the Baltic Sea coast of Estonia between 14 and 19th July . During the following week, a traveling film program will bring highlights of the festival to different towns of Estonia.
I am particularly proud as Pärnu is the oldest film festival in Estonia. It’s full title is Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival. Among its main areas of focus are Human Rights, Social Issues, Culture and Survival of Indigenous Cultures which sounds like an excellent match for my film. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend in person but might be able to send someone to spy for me instead ;)
Just started a new gig as Freelance Video Producer at Nomadic Learning. The company creates educational tools specifically designed for the web and as part of that produces a number of animated and documentary shorts. So far it feels like a great match and a fine place to be! The team consists of teachers, writers, entrepreneurs, developers, designers, and filmmakers who are passionate about creating better education experiences. Our US office is located at the We Work Soho West coworking office space (come check it out!).
My first project is an animated series on the very abstract notion of new company values. I am involved in the script writing, directing, producing, post-producing, subcontracting etc. Overall visual concept and design will be done by the amazing Jing Wei and animation will be executed by Eddie Song and Jenni Yang. Feels very exciting to be doing animation once again after a two-year break. Will keep you posted on the results!