Blaga's Lessons

Showings

The Main 1 Fri, Apr 19 11:30 AM
The Main 2 Thu, Apr 25 4:40 PM
Film Info
Accessibility:HI
Captions:SUB
Festival:MSPIFF43
Festival Programs:Marquee
Release Year:2023
Runtime:114 min
Country/Region:Bulgaria
Germany
Festivals & Awards:Karlovy Vary International Film Festival | Best Actress & Grand Prix - Crystal Globe
Language:Bulgarian
Print Source:Heretic
Trailer:https://vimeo.com/833974781
Tags:Oscar Submission
Drama
Thriller
Crime
Cast/Crew
Director:Stephan Komandarev
Producer:Stephan Komandarev
Katya Trichkova
Co-Producer:Eike Goreczka
Christoph Kukula
Cinematographer:Vesselin Hristov
Screenwriter:Stephan Komandarev
Simeon Ventsislavov
Editor:Nina Altaparmakova
Composer:Kalina Vasileva
Principal Cast:Eli Skorcheva
Gerasim Georgiev
Stefan Denolyubov
Rozalia Abgarian
Ivan Barnev

Description

After Directions (2017), which centered on tough times for some Sofia taxi drivers over a long and eventful night, and Rounds (2019), about police officers patrolling the capital, director-writer Stephan Komandarev and his co-writer complete their trilogy on social problems and moral ills in contemporary Bulgaria with this cautionary drama about an older woman duped by a telephone scam aimed at the country’s pensioners. Blaga (Eli Skorcheva) is a retired Bulgarian language and literature teacher. A recent widow, she’s worried about how she will pay for her husband’s grave and headstone. She supplements her meager pension by giving private language lessons. At first it looks as if she can stretch her finances, but then she is swindled out of almost all her money. The film provides a fitting showcase for the expressive lead Skorcheva, an ‘80’s star, who turns in a performance that is both vulnerable and steely.