Bulgarian Lamentation Songs

Wolves divide and fascinate us. 150 years after they were driven to extinction in Central Europe, they are returning slowly but inexorably. Are they dangerous to humans? Is it possible to coexist? Using Switzerland as a point of departure, where wolves have returned in the very recent past, this documentary sheds light on the wolf situation in Austria, eastern Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, and even Minnesota, where freely roaming packs of wolves are more common sight.

The fearsome bat is amongst the stealthiest hunters in the Animal Kingdom, but for all their ingenious abilities, a species of grasshopper in the mountains of Bulgaria has learnt to outsmart them. Now, join a team of researchers armed with state-of-the-art ultrasonic cameras, as they discover the mechanisms behind this standoff. The Secret Life of Bats reveals the science behind sonar, and the hidden hunting challenges faced by this deadly predator.

Every year in June, the small Bulgarian village of Balgari celebrates St Constantine with a special ritual. Initiated ‘nestinari’ go into a music-induced trance and dance on bonfires in a display of religious passion.

A Finnish documentary follows four young men who have one year to find new love in Helsinki.

The story of six young people addicted to heroin in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Staged behind the scenes look at the McWalter movie.

After twenty-five years spent in France, I return to Bulgaria, camera in hand, with a vertiginous suspicion: what if my family had collaborated with the political police of the communist regime? And what if they were part of the "red trash" that the demonstrators on the street want to see disappear? I decide to investigate and to film, constantly, ready for anything. My adventure transforms itself into a tragic comic odyssey; a film that combines espionage with family.

This film documents the Kukeri rituals in Bulgaria, focusing on the mask makers and performers who keep this ancient tradition alive. Their dedication to this agrarian custom is a visual testament to the power of tradition to provide hope and community in a time of diaspora and urbanization.

The Balkans is home to an ancient pagan tradition where magic and mystery still have a sacred place in the cosmic order. The Kukeri festival has had a strong hold over Bulgarian cultural life since the fifth century, surviving the Ottomans, Christendom and communist rule. Every winter, hundreds of terrifying figures prowl snow-capped forests and village centers in search of evil spirits to dispel from their communities.

A documentary about the life and music of the great Bulgarian folk-jazz clarinet player Ivo Papasov - Ibryama.

Eight thousand feet above sea level, in the sacred heart of Rila mountain, in sweltering heat, and rain, and fog, the only transport being mules, deprived of water, means and fuel, next to the sky, only to God’s eternal eye, a crazy medley cast of seventy plays Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, Hamlet!

Part fictional documentary, part musical anthropology, scientific magic, and eco-anarchic utopian journey in a landscape of eight parts. You're Kaloyan, the sax player. Or Diana, the Gypsy dancer. You journey together through Bulgaria in search of the utopian village Dolphinovo. It's not Sofia, Paris or New York. That's why this story is rural, rustic and polyphonic. It's like a string of painted walls of village houses, folk songs and allegories. However, who is Ivo? And why does he lead you through these winter landscapes a year later?

This film was made on the occasion of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Ilinden (St. Ellias Day) Rebellion. This panoramic film depicts the most significant historic figures and places situated in the Aegian, Pirin and Vardar regions.

Bettina and Frank are from Saxony, without a job and are on vacation for the first time. They go to the sunny beach, where the unemployed Bulgarians Tenscho and Radka open a boutique to earn money with the Germans.

Paintings, performances, experiments, electronic music sounding in the spaces of two old houses in a small Italian town, heated conversations about contemporary art, touching meetings with the closest people and places in Bulgaria after 50 years of separation. "Flying with Fins" is a film about the constant search for meaning in art and life. Alzek Misheff, artist - rebel and experimenter, leads us in this philosophical and aesthetic journey through time, space and ideas.

The film explores the hurdles facing organ transplant recipients in Bulgaria, once among Eastern Europe’s leaders in the medical procedure, but now ranking last on the continent for the number of transplants performed.