Stephan Komandarev’s fifth-feature film, Directions, is true to its title. Set in modern Bulgaria, the film centers on the taxi-drivers who live and work in the city. They are all going in different directions, as luck would have it, but their stories serve as a grander reflection of present-day Bulgarian society. One of them, also a small business owner, is hit with an all too harsh reality; having made a bribe to a banker in the hope of securing a loan, he learns that he must pay twice the amount they had previously agreed on. While this driver contends with a devastating development, six other taxi drivers ride through the night.
Having been inspired to produce Directions after encounters with real-life drivers, Komandarev has created a dark, moving, and altogether human story that he said is meant to be viewed as a “diagnosis” of modern Bulgarian life.
Director Biography
Filmmaker, producer and writer Stephan Komandarev was born in November, 1966 in Sofia, Bulgaria. He wrote and directed The Judgement (’14), Alphabet of Hope (’04) among many other projects. His latest feature, Directions, has earned him a nomination for the Prize of Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film festival.
Press
"A series of cab rides in nighttime Sofia give a well-observed impression of Bulgarian society in Stephan Komandarev's film." - Variety
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