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Cinemania 2011 and movies worth watching

Photo: Архив
One of the most interesting film festivals in Bulgaria – Cinemania, turned 25. It was established in 1987, just before the democratic changes and yet its first edition screened movies that became classic afterwards: Milos Forman’s Amadeus, Oliver Stone’s Platoon etc. Movie fans would spend hours in queues, waiting for the tickets. Today, almost 25 years later the fest is waited with anxiety from all those, who love the 7th art. Some 50 movies from all over the world are included in this edition of the festival. It will be unveiled November 11 with Italian comedy Manuale d’amore with Robert de Niro and Monica Bellucci. The new film of Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris, Melancholia of Lars von Trier and The Skin I Live In of Pedro Almodovar are included in the program. Vladimir Trifonov, who participated in the selection of the titles, gives more details.

“We managed to negotiate other hot titles that were not bought for distribution in this country. Two of the contests that were in the program in Venice entered our own literally in the last second. Those were Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and other interesting British actors and A Dangerous Method – the story of father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud and his student Carl Jung. Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender play the roles of the two famous persons, Keira Knightley is also deeply involved in the film. The festival has several new sections. One of them is The Screenings that will show this year the new version of Jane Eyre. The audience will also be able to see Shakespeare’s Tempest.”

Another section – Culinary Movie will accompany three interesting films with a dinner. The first screening will show the classical Babette’s Feast that won the Oscar for a foreign movie back in 1987. Lessons In Chocolate and The Trip are the other two titles.

Eight movies for the kids are included in the program, due to the support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation. Half of those are cartoons, while the others are feature movies and the access to all of them is free. Four American classical titles will be screened again: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, A Streetcar Named Desire, A Clockwork Orange and Paris Blues. The new Bulgarian movie One More Thing On Love, based on a true story is included too.

“The story is about two interesting male characters,” Director Magdalena Ralcheva told a Radio Bulgaria reporter. “One of them is famous surgeon Ivan Rumenov, played by Kalin Vrachanski. During the communist era Rumenov was sent in exile in the town of Varna, since he was the assistant of Prof. Alexander Stanishev, shot by the so-called People’s Court. The man lost his career and love that remained in Sofia and he had to start it all over again in Varna. He met photographer Dikran there, the town’s favorite, who helped him overcome the pain. At the same time Rumenov saw an extraordinary story – a beautiful lady appeared, claiming she was the fiancée of Dikran, who had become a victim of accident and his condition was tragic...”

The spectators will find out what happens next. By the way, Cinemania will visit the Black Sea port town of Varna too. The good thing is that the organizers have decided to do some sort of an overview of new Bulgarian cinema. It will start three days after the fest’s closing night. The Lumiere Cinema will screen a new Bulgarian movie each Wednesday. The first one will be Operation Shmenti Kapeli of producer Vladi Vargala that has become favorite to the audience over the past weeks.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev
По публикацията работи: Veneta Pavlova


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