28-09-2010

PRODUCTION: I Am You filming in Sofia

By Pavlina Jeleva

    I Am You or Adriana, directed by Petar Popzlatev, is nearing the end of filming in emblematic old Sofia locations and the former Bulgarian royal summer palace on the Black Sea coast.

    Based on two books, the film is a rare experiment in the Bulgarian cinema. The first, ‘A Novel Without a Title' was never finished by author Dimitar Dimov (1909-1966), who had two other novels adapted for the screen. The second book ‘Adriana' was written by his daughter Teodora Dimova 41 years later, when she decided to finish her father's work and bring her own personal approach to it.

    In the book the main character Adriana is a 93 old woman, who shortly before her death remembers her life some 60 years earlier. The woman's intimate "inner mirror" provokes memories linked to numerous moral abuses. "After writing Adriana I started to realise that getting old can be beautiful," Dimova said. The reflective nature of her writing has earned Dimova comparisons with Marcel Proust.

    Known for his ongoing collaboration with leading Bulgarian DoP Emil Hristov and for his elegant style, Popzlatev won a best film award in Torino and a best debut film award in Anger for his first film The Countess (1989). He cast two actresses for the four main parts. Jeanette Spassova, an actress with the Berlin Volksbühne, plays both the younger and older Adriana; and Irmena Chichikova portrays segments of young Adriana's live plus the role of the second important woman in the film who functions as Adriana's opposite.

    Popzlatev, who also produces the film, said the estimated budget is one million euro. The film was supported by the National Film Center (www.nfc.bg ) and will be broadcast by Bulgarian National Television (www.bnt.bg).

    Production credits

    Scriptwriters - Vladimir Ganev, Stefan Kospartov, Petar Popzlatev

    Director - Petar Popzlatev

    Director of Photography - Emil Hristov

    Set designers - Boriana Semerdjieva, Pavlina Kozeva, Anton Djidrov, Konstantin Djidrov

    Costume designer - Boriana Semerdjieva

    Cast:

    Jeanette Spasova - Old Adriana, Young Adriana

    Irmena Chichikova - Young Adriana, Jura

    Ovanes Torosian -Boyan

    Miliana Lenak -Maria

    Deyan Donkov - Adamov

    Zahari Baharov - Lachezarov

    Vlado Karamazov -Germain

    Vlado Penev -Simeon

    Jana Stoyanovich -Jura's grandmother

    Production company

    Postscriptum2

    9, "September 6-th" Str

    Sofia - 1121

    Bulgaria

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    phone: +359 418 24 75