Sophia Scorziello editor When director Anthony Caronna was pitched with making a series out of Elon Green’s 2021 book “Last Call,” about a string of queer-targeted murders in 1990’s Manhattan, he had some reservations. “I loved the book,” said Caronna. “But I passed on the project because I wasn’t interested at that time in doing true crime. My biggest concern was re-victimizing the community and possibly working against the community in a way.” True crime media is a true mixed bag. Each documentary, docuseries or podcast sits somewhere on a spectrum of educational and entertaining; while the latter might sound like a jarring way to describe the storytelling of real-life criminals and real-life victims, it’s not incorrect to say that some audiences find sensationalized crime stories enticing.
‘Blaga’s Lessons’ Director Stephan Komandarev on Diagnosing the Ills of Contemporary Bulgaria
28.06.2023 - 13:15 / variety.com
Alissa Simon Film Critic Bulgarian multi-hyphenate Stephan Komandarev completes his trilogy on social problems and moral ills in contemporary Bulgaria with “Blaga’s Lessons,” world premiering in Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s Crystal Globe competition. Heretic is the sales agent. After “Directions” (2017), which centers on tough times for some Sofia taxi drivers over a long and eventful night, and “Rounds” (2019), about police officers patrolling the capital, Komandarev and his co-writer Simeon Ventsislavov use an older woman duped by a telephone scam to look at issues afflicting their parents’ generation. Komandarev says: “The Bulgarian pensioners turned out to be the real victims of the so-called ‘transition’ (the time from 1989 to today.) These people, who have worked and created persistently all their lives, have lost basic safety and security, normal food, adequate medical care, heating, etc.”
The protagonist Blaga (Eli Skorcheva) is a retired Bulgarian language and literature teacher. A recent widow, she’s worried about how she will pay for her husband’s grave and headstone. Her grown son lives abroad and struggles to make a living himself. She supplements her meager pension by giving private language lessons. At first it looks as if she can stretch her finances, but then she is swindled out of almost all her money. Helmer Komandarev notes that he and many of his friends have loved ones who have fallen prey to such scams. He says: “It happens quite often. We did serious research, met many victims, talked to police officers who work on such cases, even managed to see a real phone scammer. We hope our film will seriously support prevention.” While the previous films in the helmer’s trilogy took place in Sofia,
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‘Blaga’s Lessons,’ ‘Empty Nets’ Take Top Honors at 2023 Karlovy Vary Film Festival
Crystal Globe CompetitionJury members:Dora Bouchoucha, TunisiaPatricia Clarkson, USAJohn Nein, USAOlmo Omerzu, Czech Republic / SloveniaBarry Ward, IrelandGRAND PRIX – CRYSTAL GLOBE (25 000 USD)The financial award is shared equally by the director and producer of the award-winningfilm.“Blaga’s Lessons” (“Urotcite na Blaga”)Directed by: Stephan KomandarevBulgaria, Germany, 2023SPECIAL JURY PRIZE (15 000 USD)The financial award is shared equally by the director and producer of the award-winningfilm.“Empty Nets” (“Toorhaye khali”)Directed by: Behrooz KaramizadeGermany, Iran, 2023BEST DIRECTOR AWARDBabak Jalali for the film “Fremont”USA, 2023BEST ACTRESS AWARDEli Skorcheva for her role in the film “Blaga’s Lessons” (“Urotcite na Blaga”)Bulgaria, Germany, 2023BEST ACTOR AWARDHerbert Nordrum for his role in the film “The Hypnosis” (“Hypnosen”)Sweden, Norway, France, 2023SPECIAL JURY MENTION“Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano”Directed by: Cyril ArisGermany, Lebanon, 2023PRÁVO AUDIENCE AWARD“The Edge of the Blade” (“Une affaire d’honneur”Directed by: Vincent PerezFrance, 2023Proxima CompetitionJury Members:Dana Linssen, NetherlandsMarija Razgutė, LithuaniaŠimon Šafránek, Czech RepublicBarbara Wurm, AustriaMeng Xie, People’s Republic of ChinaPROXIMA GRAND PRIX (15 000 USD)The financial award is shared equally by the director and producer of the award-winningfilm.“Birth”Directed by: Yoo Ji-youngSouth Korea, 2022PROXIMA SPECIAL JURY PRIZE (10 000 USD)The financial award is shared equally by the director and producer of the award-winningfilm.“Guras”Directed by: Saurav RaiIndia, Nepal, 2023SPECIAL JURY MENTION“Brutal Heat” (“Brutální vedro”Directed by: Albert HospodářskýCzech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2023CRYSTAL GLOBE FOR OUTSTANDING
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Bulgarian Drama ‘Blaga’s Lessons’ Takes Top Prize: Full Karlovy Vary 2023 Award Winners
The 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has concluded yet another wonderful week of cinematic discoveries. Previously announced awards were given to a variety of contributors to global cinema.
Karlovy Vary Reveals Award Winners: ‘Blaga’s Lessons’ Takes Key Prizes
The 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 30 – July 8) came to a close this evening with an awards ceremony that bestowed two key prizes to contemporary Bulgarian drama Blaga’s Lessons (Urotcite Na Blaga) by director Stephan Komandarev.
Bulgarian Crime Story ‘Blaga’s Lessons’ Takes Top Prize at Karlovy Vary Film Festival
Will Tizard Contributor Bulgarian crime story “Blaga’s Lessons” by Stephan Komandarev scored the top prize and $25,000 at the 57th Karlovy Vary Film Festival on Saturday, capping a week of celebrating art film, stars and bold global work. With sold out screenings ranging from Russell Crowe introducing “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” to rare Japanese masterworks by Yasuzo Masumura and a tribute to actor Daniela Kolarova, Czech audiences proved once again to be hungry for every kind of film they cannot experience at any other venue. The Crystal Globe competition special jury prize, along with $15,000, went to “Empty Nets,” a German-Iranian gritty love story directed by Behrooz Karamizade.
Richard E. Grant In ‘The Lesson’, Mark Duplass In ‘Biosphere’ And Their First-Time Female Directors – Specialty Preview
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‘Blaga’s Lessons’ Review: A Victim Turns Venal In a Bitterly Potent Social Thriller From Bulgaria
Guy Lodge Film Critic In one fell swoop, 70-year-old widow Blaga Naumova goes from being cash-strapped to cash-stripped. All her life, she’s carefully pinched pennies to accumulate a modest cushion of life savings that she’s nonetheless never been sensible enough to put in the bank; decades of scrimping amount to naught when, in a moment of terrorized madness, she caves to the threats of a phone scammer and quite literally throws her very small fortune out the window. How could you be so stupid, everyone asks her, and many in the audience are likely to echo them. But Stephan Komandarev’s damning, despairing, riveting thriller “Blaga’s Lessons” sees things another way: In a post-communist Bulgaria where women like Blaga are legally bled dry by cowboys and corrupt institutions on all sides, how is she supposed to see the difference?
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