„Небето на Велека“ – хронология на потопените мечти
The Sky over Veleka: A Chronology of Dreams Wrecked

Summary/Abstract: The Sky over Veleka was Eduard Sachariev’s feature film debut, based on the eponimus novel of Diko Fuchedjiev. Along with cinematic methods typical of the 1960s, Eduard Sachariev established his own manner, both visually and socially. Very much like Lubomir Sharlandjiev’s The Prosecutor, Eduard Sachariev’s experiment with The Sky over Veleka to try and review the period of the coercive methods of collectivisation of the farms in the early years of socialist government failed. The 1960s were among the most dynamic periods in the history of Bulgarian socialist film. The ups and downs of liberalisation of the part of the Communist Party brought forth some of the most emblematic Bulgarian films such as Monday Morning, The Prosecutor, The Attached Balloon. Despite all their superior art qualities and innovative cinematic language, these works remained ‘locked’, becoming ghost movies, repository films. The Sky over Veleka was one of them. Archival materials kept in the film’s dossier allow following the chronology of the making and the destruction of the movie. The Sky over Veleka was not officially banned by censorship: the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party had already adopted and skilfully honed other methods for destroying people’s lives and careers and robbing Bulgarian cinematic art.

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