Biserka Gramatikova
The year was 1943 and Bulgaria told Hitler that it would not accept Bulgarian Jews. The untold but true story of how some 50,000 Bulgarian Jews were saved from exile and death – a forgotten chapter in European history. Europe’s major powers are at war, and Bulgaria’s King Boris III must choose a side or be swept away. How the power of Bulgarian civil society outstripped the Nazis and saved the lives of nearly 50,000 Jews!
The subject of the Holocaust is still difficult to understand, but art, especially film, does not stop at trying. The result is a film that has become a timeless classic. These include Life is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni, Sophie’s Choice by Alan Pacula, Schindler’s List by Steven Spielberg, and The Pianist by Roman Polanski.
In the late 1950s, Bulgarian cinema, which had been nationalized by the new communist government in 1947, began to see some improvement. The death of Stalin, which changes the course of social development in the country towards the Soviet Union, brings new forces and ideas into creative life. One of the most important new trends in art is the desire to recreate more complex and ambiguous characters in urgent life situations.
Although there were some delays, this new creative spirit reached Bulgarian cinema, allowing it to emulate more advanced world cinematography.
The 50s saw the debut of some of Bulgaria’s most famous directors, including Rangel Valchanov. Already in his debut film “On a Small Island” Valchanov worked together with screenwriter Valery Petrov. This film is aimed at people who were born after the victory of fascism and have forgotten the horrors and high prices of that historical era. The characters are prisoners trapped on an island in the Black Sea and planning to escape.
The Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party condemns the film as pessimistic and lacking historical perspective. The authorities keep a watchful eye on the film industry, ready to block any attempt at an “ideological deviation” from the generally accepted official historical-political line. Nevertheless, this film went down in history as one of the best works of our latitudes of that time.
“Stars” (German: Sterne) is a 1959 feature film (war, drama) directed by Konrad Wolff and Rangel Valchanov. The screenwriter of the Bulgarian and DDR co-production is Angel Wagenstein.
The plot tells about the events of 1943, when a group of Nazi soldiers escorting Greek Jews to the Auschwitz death camp stopped in a small village in Bulgaria.
Walter (Jürgen Froip), a German non-commissioned officer, is skeptical and intellectually unstable, and falls in love with a Jewish girl, Ruth (Sasha Krusharska), under unexpected circumstances. This new feeling makes him rethink what is happening around him and confronts him with the inhumane nature of fascism.
essentially a movie <스타즈>is anti-fascist. It is almost an independent genre in Soviet cinema. Typically, in these plots, mass and collective heroism is emphasized. However, thanks to its serious attitude to the Jewish question, the film received a special award from the Cannes jury and the following definition from a prestigious French publication:
“This is definitely one of the most humane films dealing with the Jewish issue. The greatness is that there is no propaganda at all.”
"Stars" is considered to be the first German film to deal with the subject of the Holocaust and the responsibility of the Germans for the tragic historical events. In Bulgaria, the tape was stopped from distribution because of "abstract humanism". A particular controversy is the lack of distinction between the Jewish bourgeoisie and the Jewish proletariat.
When talking about the times, it is said that Bulgarian films are turning to the outside world to get money. These accusations are based on the film by Wanda Jakubowska, one of the prominent works of the Polish school. <마지막 무대>(1947) for the first time in Europe. This is the first film about the Holocaust, and the plot is based on autobiographical motifs from Jakubowska’s life. The tape was shot in Auschwitz, where the director ended up in 1942.
On November 10, 1989, Bulgarian cinematography changed radically. As soon as money was in private hands, hopes of a boom proved to be more than a delusion. Rather, no one seems to have a clear idea of how to make a film outside of the familiar structure, and the movie theater network has been destroyed.
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, valuable filmmaking emerged after analysis and evaluation.
Ivan Nichev is one of the few Bulgarian directors who has managed to adapt to the chaotic creative environment of our country and create important films in a European context.
Nichev created the Jewish trilogy “After the End of the World” (1998), “Journey to Jerusalem” (2003) and “The Road to the Costa del Maresme”/”Bulgarian Rhapsody” (2014). The last of the three films is the first Israeli-Bulgarian film co-production, shot to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews.
"This topic is both familiar and unfamiliar," says the director. "In the very beginning, when I was showing After the End of the World in America, it struck me that a lot of people weren't quite aware of the story. I was invited there eight or nine times in various cities and festivals, I traveled almost all over America. Many people had a hard time guessing where our small, wonderful country was located. And this makes me ambitious to make the second film - "Journey to Jerusalem", because it is worth it for these people to know about the glorious pages of ethnic tolerance and good neighborliness, especially in a region such as the Balkans.
“Bulgarians are capable of acts of selfless devotion to others, even in very difficult times. We must remember that we own it. Of course, in difficult times like ours, those feelings begin to dull. However, we should not think that our people are incapable of making generous gestures towards their neighbors. History shows that and it is a matter of national pride,” the director said in another interview.
memo: Youth facilitator Biserka Gramatikova led the presentation “The Jewish Question and Bulgarian Cinema”. Interfaith Weekend “Planting the seeds of peace.BG” (September 26-29, 2024)– A continuation of the URI European Interreligious Camp held in The Hague this August in line with the theme of the United Nations Day of Peace: Cultivating a Culture of Peace.. This session presented a retrospective of films dedicated to one of the darkest pages of human history. For many reasons, this provides Bulgarians with one of the brightest examples of tolerance and unity for humanitarian causes.
Photo: Screenshot movie “Star” (German: Sternen), Bulgarian-German Democratic Republic, 1959 feature film (war, drama) directed by Konrad Wolff and Rangel Valchanov.
