„Урок” в контекста на българското независимо кино от началото на ХХI век
The Lesson in the Context of Bulgarian Independent Filmmaking of the Early Twenty-first Century

Summary/Abstract: The film The Lesson (2014) by Kristina Grozeva and Peter Valchanov has become synonymous with the Bulgarian independent film of the second decade of the twenty-first century. Financed almost entirely outside the state support system, it is called by the NYT ‘a textbook work of neorealism’. With a series of awards, the international festival community identifies the film as a model for contemporary Bulgarian cinema with its low budget and implicit but very clear social statements, both nationally authentic and universally representative of the zeitgeist amidst the economic crisis that started in 2008. Aesthetically, The Lesson very clearly outlines the differences between an arthouse movie typical of the Bulgarian film tradition and the stylistics of socially committed contemporary independent film. Grozeva and Valchanov’s film is the next step towards a practice represented by two other self-financed and internationally successful productions of the previous decade: Mila from Mars and Eastern Plays. The next wave of Bulgarian independent film consists of mostly mainstream works seeking to take advantage of audiences’ interest in popular genres and stories adapted to the everyday life. The Lesson is an example of another type of independent filmmaking: of social criticism and empathy combined with genuine realism and artistic minimalism

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