Film Liberation in the 21st Century: Ambiguity of Independent Bulgarian Cinema

• In Event: Film and Freedoms of Expression: Production, Aesthetics, Mediology (Late Socialism and Beyond)

Abstract

In Bulgaria, the political, economic and ideological situation after 1989 gradually changed the idea of “independent cinema”. Every Bulgarian film without state or public funding has been named “independent”; however, in their aesthetic attitude these films seek to get possibly close to mainstream (B-movie) standards, not to play against them. The talk discusses this situation in detail, touching as well on the paradoxical tendency for the authors of “non-institutional” and low-budget experimental films, once they attain success at festivals, to turn to state funding for their following projects.

Author

• Petia Alexandrova Alexandrova, New Bulgarian U (Bulgaria)