Happy Thanksgiving weekend! Tomorrow I hop on the plane again for a business trip to Bulgaria. I will be there for ten days putting the finishing touches on our film “Don’t Close Your Eyes”. The film is getting a theatrical release there on January 31st. More to come.

Earlier this month, we took “Don’t Close Your Eyes” and “Spoke” to the American Film Market (AFM) in Las Vegas. Part one of this email will teach you how to be boring in Vegas. Part two will reveal what we learned at AFM. We will share resources that can hopefully benefit some of you. Before we proceed, the trailer for my third and most ambitious documentary to date - “Spoke” - is officially out:

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HOW TO BE BORING IN VEGAS

DAY 1

Arrive on a Monday at 6PM really hungry. Check into the ABNB. Talk to the downstairs neighbor with the reinforced gate and German shepherd. When he tells you it’s not safe to walk in the dark, well, maybe safer in the past couple of years, ignore him and start walking to the Strip. Get to the strip after 40 minutes walking. You are now hungrier. Get lost in a hotel that looks like a shopping mall. Refuse the invite from two girls with flamingo feathers and little clothes to pose for a picture with you. Search for food options on the Strip. Nothing sounds good because everything is too spread out. And you are hungry.

You’re Bulgarian, and you expect a European-style street with restaurants bumping elbows as far as the eye can see; people walking casually, talking gaily; people drinking espresso and staring at you. Instead, you get a big boulevard and hotels competing for your attention. Walk back to the ABNB. Finish the day paying $100 for takeout dinner for two. Do a quick calculation to realize that if you spend a $100 a meal for the next five days, your business will go broke. Well, not really, but you get the idea. So you look up the nearest grocery store and cry tears of joy when you find out there is a Sprouts nearby.

Watch a docuseries on Netflix about aliens in New York. Go to bed, but not before you take out a scent dispenser plugged into a power socket. The toxic smell of detergent is supposed to make you feel like you belong to the exotic ABNB with the peeling wallpaper, bent blinds, snoring fridge and worn-down 90s furniture. You suffocate the scent monster into a ziplock bag, which you leave outside.

DAY 2

First order of business - sprouts, cause you know that if you eat healthy while on the road, in Vegas or elsewhere, you will feel much better. You spend $400 for two people and buy enough food, zinc and vitamin C included, to last for five days. That’s three meals a day at $40 per person per day. Eating out would make your tummy hurt and cost your indie film production company anywhere between $1,500 and $2,500. You smile to yourself and make vegetarian stuffed bell peppers.

You start your AFM adventure. The elevators are clogged up, so you take the stairs, welcoming the extra movement.

DAY 3

After a hearty breakfast, you return to AFM, pitch your films to strangers who share your passion for film; some have a passion for making only money, but you knew that already - you’re in the movie business. You get back to the ABNB, which you strategically booked only 15 walking minutes away from the venue. You save money on Uber and eat a healthy organic lunch that sprouts your energy. At night, you turn down an invitation by an Argentinian attendee of the opposite gender to meet at a bar where the AFM crowd parties. You’ve made up your mind to be boring in Vegas, and so you return to the peeling wallpaper to send business emails and read some of Jim Carrey’s new book.

DAY 4

More of the same, including some very informative panels on the current state of affairs in the industry. You are not bored, but it is cold outside. Seattle weather. Next time bring a hat, you never know. You continue to get eight hours of sleep. You can’t imagine functioning in overstimulated Vegas on little sleep. The attack for attention from the slot machines is relentless and fierce, so you fight back with some humor.

DAY 5

You meet a 21-year-old in a wheel chair. (In your book “Long Nights Moon” you’re currently writing, Soledad’s character, 16, will end up in a wheelchair. Naturally, you are intrigued. You keep running into the girl, and on the fifth day you ask her how she got to be in the wheelchair. She smiles and tells you her story: the car accident when she was seventeen. Desperation thereafter. Triumph. Her outlook on life now versus then is insightful. You can’t help but be infected by her smile and bright spirit. You promise to write to her when the book is done.

Wait, you have to do laundry. On the way back, you buy laundry detergent and chamomile tea, but not before you go to a meeting in a restaurant where there is no waitlist. It’s Friday night, and Babyface has a concert in the same hotel. You don’t eat a full dinner because the average price per dish is $70. You have an appetizer, and so do your three colleagues. Your company picks up the bill, it’s still $250.

DAY 6

It’s the last day. You attend a panel about making magic with low budgets – 100K to a few million. The filmmakers on the panel chuckle and tell you not to get in the movie business. What they mean to say is: It is hard. Very hard. After one of them says to forget about making your passion project your first movie, but to do what sells, you get up and leave.

Your philosophy is that the movie you’re making now, should be treated as if it’s your last. How do you want the world to remember you, and by what?

DAY 7

Congratulations, you have achieved your mission to be boring in Vegas! You got your money’s worth from the business trip, and that’s what matters. You give the laundry detergent, chamomile tea and whatever organic food that’s left to the neighbor with the German Shepherd. Thoughts weigh you down. So much to consider. You got this. You’re in for the long haul!

You leave hopeful and slightly changed.

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AFM Postmortem

We emailed nearly 30 companies before going. Only one responded. We bought the 5 day pass, which allowed us to take advantage of the slower first two days. We went door to door introducing ourselves, handing out flyers and asking for emails of acquisition departments. We called some of the companies in advance. We even found A24’s number on IMDB Pro. They picked up and gave us an email to send an inquiry. Overall, the people who saw us were very giving with their know-how. We had about ten requests to send the films out for further review.

CAST & GENRES

1. Horror is the most popular genre. You don’t need name actors to sell a horror movie.

2. Action and psychological thrillers come in second place. You will benefit form having B list actors. Asia and the middle East are hot markets for action movies.

3. Faith-based movies are on the rise in the US.

4. Comedies and dramas are very hard to sell worldwide. You have to have name talent attached. Period.

5. The documentary market is oversaturated. Too bad for us, but…

6. Story is still king. If your movie is good, you still have a fair chance.

CLARITY & CERTAINTY

• Know exactly what your film is.

• Find an audience.

• Build the film correspondingly. If you know your audience from the start, you can make the film taking them into consideration.

• Don’t underestimate data and how helpful it can be. Research what sells in what markets.

FINANCING

• How can you be profitable from Day 1?

• How can you leverage what you have?

• Think about your fans and center everything around them.

SOCIAL IMPACT

There is a big wave coming in Hollywood of making movies with social impact. Corporations and brands are looking to align with such films. Movie actors as well.

THEATRICAL WINDOWS

• Movie theater window

• Transactional window

• SVOD window

• AVOD - Advertising window

• TVOD

• DVD collectibles

COMPS (comparables)

• Creative Comps–pick any three movies from now to the wake of the film age. You will use these to communicate your creative vision.

• Business Comps–pick any three movies from the past 2-3 years; these movies you will compare to your film’s financial goals.

PITCHING

• Tell me more–tell people enough to make them want to know more.

• LESS IS MORE!

• Know your room and adjust accordingly.

• A time-shift is a movie with two or more timelines across time.

FLYERS

Create flyers for your films, but don’t forget to put your contact info on them. Some people want nothing to do with QR codes. People asked for business cards, but we didn’t bring any. We got their information and followed up via email.

COMPANIES WE TALKED TO or LEARNED ABOUT

Partners In Kind

Skywise Entertainment

The Forge

Bankside Films

House Of Film

Indie Rights

The Avenue

Republic

Blue Fox Entertainment

Blue Harbor Entertainment

Buffalo8

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Thanks for reading,

Bogdan

Today, I will introduce you to another aspect of the post-production on our new film SPOKE - the creation of newspapers to tell an effective story.

But let's start from the beginning: I met Christofor Balabanov in 2019 during the Bulgarian tour for my film THERE. Christofor is a graphic designer and photographer, and at that time, he was enrolled to study film directing at New Bulgarian University under the guide of Professor Georgi Dyulgerov - a renowned Bulgarian filmmaker. Mr. Dyulgerov won the Silver Bear award at the prestigious Berlinale festival in Berlin in 1978 for his film "Avantage." Here is an excerpt from the film:

We affectionately call Christofor - Fori; he designed the camera avatar for our production company, Filmabee. If you need any graphic design work he is your guru.

In 2022, Christofor accompanied me as a photographer throughout Bulgaria during the "Kaval Park" tour. His keen eye for detail and artistic sensibility added a unique dimension to our journey, capturing the essence of each location and event.

In the summer and fall of 2023, we hired Christofor to shoot and create video content during the filming of the feature film "Don't Close Your Eyes." Most of the behind-the-scenes photos promoting the film will be his.

Christofor works from his studio in the center of Plovdiv, on the lively Main Street, and in the evenings, he returns to his village in Brestovitsa, to the house he is restoring himself. I called him with great pleasure at the beginning of the summer to invite him to work on SPOKE. We usually communicate via Viber - me while walking the dog in the mornings, and him while playing with his son before going to bed. Our conversation went like this:

- "Whatever you need, I'll do it," he says.

- "We need to create nine newspapers that reflect the scale of Rudy's journey in the US in 2010."

- "Do you want them to look real?"

- "No. Stylized," I answer.

- "Will they be printed?"

- "Yes. The team animating them wants to print and photograph them."

Thus, began a discussion about fonts, printing paper, and other details. I started uploading examples of American newspapers to Trello - a project management tool we’ve been using since the beginning of the year. There, I also shared the texts for the newspapers.

Although most of the headlines and articles in the newspapers will be seen for just 1/10 of a second, and some may not be seen at all, I decided to pay attention to every detail. The photos below reflect our collaboration.

This first fictional newspaper is from the city of Burnaby in Canada, where Rudy served for 30 years as a firefighter. Under the photo of Rudy riding a bicycle is the headline: "The Voice That Travels the Galaxy." The image is of the Golden Record from the "Voyager" spacecraft. It features the song "Izlel e Delyo Haydutin" by Valya Balkanska. Her voice is traveling through space with the idea of introducing extraterrestrials to us - humans.

After the headline and the photo of Rudy, the logo of the Seattle SuperSonics basketball team follows, along with an article we created about the team. I was a big fan of theirs. And in '96, just a year after I arrived to Seattle, I watched them play in the finals against the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. The other article in the newspaper is a fictional review of my short film "Listen."

In this newspaper from the city of Portland, the drawing of the geese is by Marina Ivanova - a 21-year-old artist from Bulgaria who is working on illustrations and sketches for SPOKE. We will introduce you to her art later on.

Here, under the photo of Rudy and the article about his fake wallet, is the headline: "My Farewell to the American Mall" and an article about another kind of an American dream…

For the newspaper from San Diego, I came up with the idea to feature the American Bazilio, who, along with Bulgarian Educational and Cultural Society PCHELA (who supported my last two docs) and a dozen other volunteers, organizes the Balkan Festival in San Diego. The drawing is by the Bulgarian artist Mariana Kalacheva.

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In the newspaper from Texas, the photo features a scene from the film with a farmer who saves Rudy’s life. Below the photo is an article about the film "Delicatessen" from the blog of our cinematographer, Matthew Skala. If you read English, you can read the entire article here.

So here it is, when you watch our film SPOKE one day, you will know a little bit more about our creative process and the making of the newspapers.

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This fall, Christofor graduated from NBU with a degree in "Film Directing." Congratulations, Fori! I can’t wait to see what you do in cinema.

Until next week!

Bogdan

Today, Rudy is still here with us, full of vigor, wisdom and stories to tell!

Riding his bicycle around the world, Rudy begins to confront the post-traumatic stress he has accumulated over his 30-year career as a firefighter. Within a single day while riding on a highway in Australia, Rudy counts over 70 dead kangaroos. The animals gather by the roadside early in the morning to drink dew collected on the road. Freight trucks with massive grilles in front ruthlessly plow them down. These scenes remind Rudy of the numerous car accidents he has witnessed. He has no choice but to face and battle this trauma once again.

While the story is told through the eyes of Rudy, SPOKE is a tribute to all firefighters and first responders around the world. I learned a great deal about what they go through in order to continue to serve and protect us. Now, when I see firefighters or policemen line up after me in a coffee shop, I always offer them my spot.

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What does “picture lock” mean?

After seven months of working with editor Fred Beahm and at least six versions of the film, the edit is complete. We edited on our own and, together, via a video link on Louper - Fred in Los Angeles, me in Seattle. We showed each version to a test audience. From the discussions after the screenings, it became clear what worked in the film, what was missing, and how to move forward.

At the beginning of our collaboration, Fred and I used Frame.io, where we uploaded versions of the film and commented on them.

The edit, or picture, needs to be locked because if the director continues to change it, the timing gets disrupted. This creates problems in the subsequent stages of work and increases production costs.

The next four stages of work proceed simultaneously.

Color Correction

Once the picture is locked and there are no more changes to the edit, the film is sent to the colorist. Since the raw film files are very large, we edit with smaller ones called proxies. Martin Petrov, our colorist, spent about ten days replacing all the proxy files with the original raw files. He put up our film version on one monitor and meticulously replaced everything in the edit, shot by shot.

Martin will be creating four versions with different color corrections:

1. One for cinema screens, which we are working on now. That’s why there’s a second monitor in the third picture. It is calibrated for cinema projectors.

2. An internet version

3. A version for home televisions

4. A version for TV broadcasting

Martin lives and works in Bulgaria. In the past few weeks, we have been meeting with him and cinematographer, Matthew Scala. The three of us work together - Martin in Sofia doing most of the heavy lifting, me in Seattle, and Matthew in Los Angeles. We use DaVinci Resolve Remote, and it’s as if we are all in the same room. Well, I stay silent most of the time and occasionally give my input on a shot.

Sound Design and Mix

Brian Sloss lives and works in Seattle. We first collaborated on the sound design and mix for my debut feature film, THERE.

Brian will be doing the final mix in surround sound - 5.1. SPOKE will be my first film with surround sound, which is very exciting. We'll definitely need to rent state of the art movie theaters for the world tour.

The Music Score

With the score for SPOKE, we took an unconventional approach. Composer Brian Baron started working on the music months ago while Fred and I were still editing. For a month, we met every Saturday to watch parts of the film and play chess. The last time, Brian won.

Traditionally, scoring the film begins after the picture is locked. About ten days ago, the three of us - Brian Sloss, Brian Baron, and I - met twice in person to watch the film from beginning to end. We pause, discuss, take notes, and then watch it again.

Graphic Design and Visual Effects

Christofor Balabanov works in Plovdiv and lives twenty minutes away in Brestovitsa - a village nested at the foot of the majestic Rhodope Mountains. We are collaborating with him on the graphics for the nine different newspapers that are part of the film. Each newspaper clip visually narrates Rudy’s journey. Currently, Christofor is at the seaside and has taken his laptop to work from there. I’m having a blast coming up with secondary headlines that we may not even see in the final film.

Twenty one year old Bulgarian artist Marina Ivanova is illustrating the graphics in charcoal. We’ll break down this process in a later blog post. Visual effects and motion graphics are being handled by Tihomir from the De-Attic studio in Sofia. We first worked together in the spring of 2020. The visual effects include adding fire, inserting drops into a catheter, animating newspapers, and more.

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After an intense PR campaign in Bulgaria for “Kaval Park” I returned to Seattle with a lot on my mind. Admittedly, it was a huge deal to release “Kaval Park” in movie theaters in Bulgaria. I detailed some of the excitement here.

But after all of the effort and a substantial amount of money spent in advertising what did we accomplish?

We had billboards across major cities, featured radio commercials, subway and bus stop ads. Taxi drivers, friends of friends and random people off the street knew about the film. Why didn’t they come see it? Attendance hovered around 500 brave Bulgarians for the whole theatrical run. Everyone that came to see the film fell in love with it, but herein lies the first lesson. In hindsight, it seems like a no brainer.

People loving your film will not translate to people coming to see it. Treat your film and its marketing like two different events. One has nothing to do with the other.

That may seem radical, but I’ve come to believe that this sort of sober, astute and cold approach is the best one to harness. I will be the first to admit that being too close to the film failed to give me a much needed perspective.

Grassroots

We’re building a grassroots Marketing Team. Led by Gabriela our team is hard at work applying the lessons learned to the release of “Kaval Park” on Amazon Prime Video and the Bulgarian streaming service Neterra.TV. These releases are happening in the next month. You will be the first to find out.

Early on my partner and I chose to invest in the potential of people. Ben calls them “little rodents” after the name of our company Itchy Rodent Films. We wanted them to be with us from ground zero, giving them the tools and freedom to fail and to shine. Our Team is now managing our social media presence which frees me up to focus on my new documentary while Ben is turning his novel into a feature film screenplay.

Mirroring

“Kaval Park” was released in 19 movie theaters across 16 cities in Bulgaria. In all cities but two, you could see it only once or twice during the week. In all instances, moviegoers had only one time slot in the day to choose from. Usually, they would have four or five showtimes to choose from.

Why would I go out of my way to see a documentary on Monday at 9PM, when at home I can see a movie anytime?

Fair question. One we should have asked ourselves at the beginning. The money we put into marketing the film didn’t mirror the number of screens it was released on. In other words, I, your average moviegoer, see ads all over Bulgaria and I expect the scope of these ads to translate to plenty of choices for me. But when the film is released I have next to no choice. Unless Robert De Niro is in the film, why would I go out of my way to find a babysitter for Monday night?

I know my folklore is special

We focused our marketing on the love of folklore in the film and targeted Bulgarians who shared this love. It was the wrong approach. It had a precedent which I failed to recognize.

When we toured the US with the film, most of our American audience wanted to buy t-shirts with the Bulgarian spelling of “Kaval Park” - Кавал парк. We still have a huge inventory of t-shirts in English. Most had fallen in love with Balkan music in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. They wanted the t-shirt to reflect their long-lasting romantic love for our culture and music.

Why would a Bulgarian living in Bulgaria, one who loves and cherishes our folklore, go see a movie about Bulgarian folklore? They wouldn’t. They don’t need further validation. They dance a few times a week. They listen to folk music on the radio. They don’t need a foreigner to tell them how special our folklore is. That is not to say they would dislike the film. They love it when they do show up, but it was the wrong approach to get them into the movie theater.

Our most popular trailer for the film on Bulgarian social media turned out to be the one which opens with Alexander Eppler saying,

“People call me a fascist, a communist, an archconservative, a liberal. Basically, everyone sort of hates me…”

It goes on to show him making crepes and talking about praying for our enemies…

In conclusion, people in the industry told me there is little money to be made putting a documentary film on the big screen. I defied them. Not for the sake of a profit, but genuinely wishing Alexander Eppler to reach more of us. I failed. But then again, this is my nature - to challenge the status quo. I wouldn’t have made this film if I listened to most of what people told me. But blinded, by the moral value of the film, I ignored the warning signs which warranted a deeper look into the phsychology of Bulgarians in Bulgaria.

Was I anxious about it all? I had my moments, but overall I would say I wasn’t. I had fun promoting the film. I believe “Kaval Park” will continue to give for generations to come.

What did Bogdan do upon his return?

Upon my return I deleted my Instagram account. I disliked the farce of posting on social media to attract attention to the film and my cause. I also deleted my Facebook Page account. I now have only my personal Facebook page where I post when the muse strikes me. I’d rather focus on developing this newsletter. Here, Bogdan the film director, writer and human being is in direct touch with you. You are part of my journey and I hope what I share here inspires and informs your journey too.

The biggest shift since returning to Seattle has been to focus my energies where my passions lie. To simplify my daily routine. To simplify my creative process. I feel a strong calling to return to writing. And to serve my creative process I’ve decided to combine two novels into one. I have been working on both at different times for the past fifteen years. In short, I’m turning my grief and anger at the current state of affairs with social media and phones into a journey of friendship, healing and hope. The voices of the teenagers in my book have been calling to me - it has become impossible to ignore them. My love for my teenage step-daughter is a huge driving force moving me in this thrilling direction. I recently purchased the book “The Anxious Generation” as part of my research. Here is an excerpt from their website:

I was part of a ZOOM meeting with the author. Concerned parents, demoralized teachers and Gen Z’s entering the workforce turned up from all over the world. We ended the sessions with a rap-recap by BABA BRINKMAN. You can see me rocking in the video bellow with my wild hairdo in our new office. No more working out of the living room!

I leave you with a final image which I hope is a call to action for us all. A teacher in a classroom asked their students to count their phone notifications during 4th period. Here is the result.

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Till next time,

Bogdan

You’re about to read a glimpse of my process which is one of constant reduction. To get to the core of the story we’ve come up with a new log line: After getting a cancer diagnosis, firefighter Rudy cheats Death and finds his CALLING.

The image bellow is what our workspace looks like as of today. We’re using Trello to organize the new version. Each column scrolls up and down with cards that have images and writing. I suppose this could be the equivalent of writing a script. These first two columns together with the writing that follows will energize the first 5-10 minutes of the film. The process is meant to inspire my closest collaborators in this stage - editor Fred Beahm and composer Brian Baron. The idea is to solicit deep emotional, philosophical and spiritual inquiry from those working with me.

Enjoy!

PROLOGUE: The road less traveled

Rudy was riding on the road less traveled. Travelled by a man struck down by cancer. A man who might or might not have been healed once upon a time. Traveled by a firefighter who could tell a story or two about dying only to live again. A story about washing your body parts off the highway, there where just a few minutes earlier you told a joke, your daughter’s belly laughter and then - THE IMPACT. You loose control; your hands grip the steering wheel; you take your last breath. Past and present marry. Rudy doesn’t know you. You didn’t know him. He is the firefighter who is hosing down the road, washing parts of you away. What goes on through his mind? Washing you away into the gutter… You didn’t know each other, but you are now forever connected in DEATH, until LIFE does you apart.

Like Moses Rudy must walk through the desert. The only difference is that, two thousand years later, Rudy rides a bicycle. He is a 21 century chimera, an extension of his bike. Man and forward motion merged to give context and peace. The road less traveled prompts Rudy to converse with his soul. Rudy would seek out the promised land on every continent, in every corner of his being. He refuses to rest until he finds his promise. Something was, is, has been wrong. 

Their last dinner together replays in his scattered mind. Did he give his wife and three children his best? He certainly gave his best to the firehouse. Twenty nine years of best. But in matters of his family he lacks sound judgment. His parents… A butterfly flutters in his peripheral vision. His parents traveled from Austria to Canada in search of a new home. He misses the comfort of their touch. A child is always a child to his parents. So Rudy will return to the place his memories inhabit, before he is reborn, on a road less traveled.

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We will get attendance numbers later next week at which point our team will start analyzing how we did and where we could have done better. We will share what we learn here in an attempt to continue to decipher the process and guide fellow filmmakers on their journey.

My friend Vasil Denev, who gave the idea for “Kaval Park”, arrived to Bulgaria ten days ago to promote the film with me. He is now flying back to Seattle. Over five days we were guests in fifteen or more national radio and TV shows. The challenge was to keep telling the story in a way that was fresh every time. Always adding another detail, another question asked, another answer given. After each appearance Vasko and I checked in with each other to orient ourselves. Most importantly, we tried to strip down our interviews of fluff and get to the core of why people should come see this film.

One of my favorite interviews was on Bloomberg TV where we talked about film finance and AI in the entertainment industry.

Another one that touched me deeply was a conversation for Christian Orthodox TV station on YouTube. If you are Bulgarian you can watch it here after minute 40.

We put a photo collage for you to illustrate the breath of our efforts.

Last but not least, we were guests on one of the most famous talk shows in Bulgaria where Vasko got to perform with the Coo Coo Band. This is the equivalent of performing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno back in the day. It also happened to be his birthday. This visit prompted me to reflect deeply on the state of affairs in Bulgaria, but those thoughts I leave for my next blog post. Enjoy!

If you happen to be in Bulgaria you can find all of our showings here.

Stay tuned! Stay inspired!

Bogdan

What I’ve heard around Bulgaria in passing and in conversation:

This Thank You was sincere and not in quotes.

I dipped my feet in hot water and sea salt and broke the fever.

Those who don’t know what to build destroy what was built before them.

Krastio Lafazanov on the swings. Mr. Lafazanov is currently one of the biggest theatre and film actors in Bulgaria.

He has embraced wholeheartedly playing a priest. He lands a wonderful nuance to the role. A tenderness and lightness rooted in faith and service.

I asked Mr. Lafazanov if he has been to the US:

Yes. After a performance we were leaving through a dim alley when I heard high heels trailing us. I turned - there was nobody there. We picked up our pace. Then, I heard them again - tak, tak, tak - this time a Bulgarian woman from the audience brushed my hand and said, “Mr. Lafazanov, I’m pregnant with my first child. I wanted to touch you for good luck.”

Ten years later a woman approached me after a show and said, “Remember me. I touched you for good luck. I have two children now and I’m expecting a third.”

The second part of the first film day we spent on a rented city bus.

An extra on the bus:

I lived in Chicago for twenty years. Nobody warned me that everything they showed us in the movies was owned by the bank. I had to go there to find out.

The next day we filmed in a church.

The main actor Alexander Kanev after singing through the church service:

I don’t know what’s happening, but I’m on the verge of tears.

The retired lady at the church who sells candles, to me and the Production Coordinator:

Father Alexander is the best singer of church hymns in Sofia. 5:30 PM every Saturday is when he sings. Join us if you are free. Many single girls come.

Production Coordinator:

I just got divorced.

We had to reshoot the entire scene above the following day because of a snow storm.

Our 3rd AD with one of Bulgaria’s all time greats - Pavel Popandov.

This is what our location looked like on Friday. Two major scenes take place here during the course of a day in the film.

And this is what it looked like the next morning.

BTW, the director of the film wishes to stay incognito until the film is done. That’s why he is not in the pictures and I’m not mentioning his name.

In the tent, between takes, with the snow falling harder and harder I reminded him:

We’re not in control.

Snow kept falling all day. We had to think on our feet. How do we make the snow work? It was an intense first hour until we figured out where this now snowy scene would fit. We decided to flip the places of the two major climax scenes and reshoot some minor scenes from the day before.

When we quit being in control, a problem becomes a solution.

Our 1st AD put it perfectly:

I don’t see problems, I see situations.

Inside the tent we keep warm while actor Hristo Gurbov freezes.

The 2nd AC cleans the lens from snow flakes.

The next morning Sofia looked like this.

A comic book installation in the town of Plovdiv where I was on “Kaval Park” business.

I saw “Napoleon” during a much needed afternoon break. It lacked direction and felt torn between what story to tell. But then I remembered that Ridley Scott’s original cut is 5 hours. It makes sense. The longer one will be released on Apple TV.

The youngest actors on our set.

Imagine your life as you wish it to be this Holiday season and fill the lives of those around you with light, my friends!

Till next time!

Bogdan

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The water gobbles up huge chunks of the city. Gone in the looking. A mega city, a celebration of progress. This is New York, this is Tokyo, Paris, Dubai, Rio and Rome merged into one monument. One terrifying moment of reckoning. The ocean, the supposed birthplace of our species hisses: The world is a puzzle!

The water undoes the Big Picture, deconstructing the puzzle. One piece at a time, one neighborhood at a time, a million people at a time. Where are the citizens running amok in the streets? Screaming… Where are the sirens, the mobilized military with its heroes? Just quiet, methodical gobbling up of our times. Water as a living entity; and it rises, and it listlessly returns order to chaos and then, soon, chaos to order. Only the smooth sea surface remembers.

I stand atop the deconstructing city and imagine water flooding my lungs. There is no hope. No way out of this moral chokehold. We have built up great cities only to fall down too far. Soon the water will reach me. Perched atop the tallest building there is, I will kneel down. I will kneel down to the inevitable apocalypse. I will drown. Submerged into a “once upon a time.”

I remember waking up from the dream overcome with hopelessness. I had just witnessed our world without hope. It is a feeling too heavy for me, to heavy to lift it up to the light and examine.

There is more to the dream: Looking down at the advancing, all consuming water, I chose to walk through the rupturing city. Looking for hope. I took my wife Mariya by the hand and we set off.

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***

September 17th. This dream visited me on the eve of the traditional Bulgarian celebration of the Day of Faith, Hope and Love (whose mother is Sofia - wisdom). The dream comes on the heels of my return to the US after wrapping up part one of filming our movie “Don’t Close Your Eyes” in Bulgaria. (We will most likely change the English name since the literal translation sounds too much like a horror movie which our film is far from.)

The feeling of hopelessness haunted me the following day. Yet, I marveled how uncanny the dream was in showing me the way forward. A way defined by faith, hope and love.

Making a film is no different. We filmed part one on a small budget, calling in favors and striking goodwill deals. We’re currently looking for financing for the second part. We took a calculated risk by inviting some of the top Bulgarian actors of all time to be in the film. Luckily for us, they fell in love with the script just as I did months earlier. We plan to show scenes from the film with them to raise additional funds. I’ll be sharing more here in the weeks to come should you wish to get behind our movie. But right now, it is enough for me, the producer whose job is half way done, it is enough to choose to walk in faith.

The dream also reminded me how close our crew and cast came to calamity. Weeks earlier, we scouted and picked a beach and a nearby village on the Southern Black Sea Coast to film in. They turned out to be the exact locations destroyed by unexpected floods. We were supposed to get there three days after the flooding. If our shooting schedule was even a little bit different, we could have very well been there at the same time as the disaster unfolded. (A shooting schedule takes into account many factors such as the main cast availability, night or day of filming, availability of locations and so much more.)

The tragedy struck on a Monday and claimed several lives. Bridges collapsed, cars and houses were washed into the sea and entire areas were closed off. Our team had to pivot in a single day. This included moving and finding lodging for forty crew and cast members up North the Black Sea Coast. Most notably, Sasho, one of our amazing production assistants, left early on Wednesday to scout locations to film on Friday. Luckily for us, and not so much for the virgin remote beach area we used, Disney had picked the same inaccessible beach last year for one of their movies. I imagine they spotted it from a boat out in the sea. They widened and paved parts of the existing dirt road to make it accessible for grip trucks and all kinds of other vehicles.

Thanks to Disney we managed to get our scenes shot at the new location.

All photos from the film set are by Christopher Balabanov.

Three days after the floods, even after moving 5 hours up north, the sea was still in its element.

Filming involved a challenging scene involving two child actors.

Part of our 35 people crew. The rest wait in trailers and minivans. Earlier in the day we were drenched by a serious downpour. I went swimming in the sea under the rain.

Author Martin Ralchevski adapted the screenplay from his book. He visited set from England where he lives.

With Martin and his son who is studying film. Nothing like the hands-on school of being on a film set!

One of the top actresses of her generation Maria Kavardjikova is in the film.

Miss Kavardjikova wandered off in between set-ups and leaned against this tree trunk. The director (he wishes to remain anonymous until we film the entire film) saw her and we filmed an incredible new and entirely improvised scene.

Till next time with your correspondent Bogdan, from the frontlines of a film set!

Bogdan

P.S. If your read my newsletter regularly, I recommend the Substack App for a clean text and photo look!

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“Wonder is born in the looking,” he would reply. Reading faces, the untold stories they hide, excited him.

He moved steel, optical glass, plywood, plastic and miles of cable across the monastery grounds. He moved silhouettes up and down stairs. He moved ancient books. He moved ancient feelings in an out of underground tunnels. He moved an automobile from 1982 to 2023 changing its license plates. He moved stories into the forever, and he worked hard and loved every moment of working hard.

He fell asleep with this thought: What is real? What is imagined? And which of the two do I film? 

Work started at 2pm again. He moved monks as if they were a part of him and he was a part of them. He moved them through the monastery and they listened to him and he listened to them. Two monks crowded around a video monitor. They watched actors convert into monks, and wondered if they could convert into actors.

He moved hours, and the hours moved him. Fifteen hours later, at 9 in the morning, he lay in bed counting blessings, and blessings counted on him to get a goodnight, a good-day, sleep.

Work started at 6pm. He looked into the future, stared at 6am on the other side of night and he knew darkness moved like sand in an hourglass. He must be careful not to break the hourglass. He moved icons into faith and transposed faith onto his kindred. Some 30-40 workers moved Creation along with him and he became small and insignificant. Liberated from the big and significant, he enjoyed his work.

He fell asleep with a smile.

Work started at 6pm again. His mind loved him so it directed feet and hands to move light stands, camera gear, a printer, cases with lenses, costumes, props and coffee. His mind watched points of view, carefully wrapped in skin, move like apparitions. The lack of sleep tugged at his eyelids, but he was not there for his eyes or even for his heart. He was there, the church bell tolling, he was there in spite of lack of sleep. He saw sound waving at him, and he was happy sound was there. He knew the names of every single crew and cast member. He even knew the names of their parents and grandparents. He knew every detail and every detail knew him.

In commitment we know ourselves and the world only need reveal to us.

He slept like a baby.

Work started at 8pm. It was the fifth day in a row he filmed and they filmed and we filmed. He slept during the day and he slept in the car on the way to wherever cars take us.

The day slept in him and the car traveled in him. He arrived and was reborn in take one, two, three... And so take after take, he gave the best of himself to those around him.

***

On Wednesday we finished the first five days of filming. Every single one of us worked an average of 60-70 hours. I watched all the moving pieces on set and marveled at the film being born before me. I hope the above story gave you a sense of the dynamic on a film set. The seen and the unseen working in cohorts of creation alongside us.

How will you be present the next time you are on a film set? At work? With friends and family?

Will you allow the wonder of shooting a film, the wonder of friendship and community to make and remake you?

Cinematographer Ivo Peithcev has been working in film since 1987.

Our crew has been between 30 and 40 people on the average.

Here the camera is on a slider for a moving shot over the shoulders (OTS) of the actors.

Another moving shot is accomplished when the camera is put on a steadicam. The rig is very heavy. The bigger the lens, the heavier it gets.

Dancho is one of our focus pullers. This is an extremely important crew position. Very strenuous on the eyes. If the focus goes soft, the whole image suffers and another take is needed.

The picture car is pushed by some of the crew members. I don’t remember the exact reason. I think it was because we were in a close-up. (Correction: Our script supervisor, Gabi, read the post and reminded me it was because we needed clean sound without the engine.)

We have quite a few night scenes. Here the light is directed up at the trees. It is bounced from the flag rigged above in the next photo.

The light reflects back to the forest floor.

Illuminating one of our main cast members Yanni.

A monk who lives in the monastery watches the video monitor to make sure we don’t miss any details during a church ceremony.

Over 5 days we filmed in about 20 locations. As you can imagine this requires lots of coordination: moving crew, cast and equipment.

Such a herculean effort requires all of us to get along, it demands from us to iron out our differences for the best of the production!

In the “The Flying Icon” , the first post in the Nonlinear Film School series, we discussed locations. They are really paying off!

Better quality photos by Christopher Balabanov, the other ones are screenshots from videos on my phone.

Thanks for reading and being a part of our adventure!

Bogdan

Ever since they left the seaport, the shoes walked, day and night, back and forth, in the ship’s hull. The merchant felt sorry for the shoes locked up bellow so one night he let them walk around the deck. Some of the shoes got off in the port city of Sinope. There, the merchant was invited, as a guest of honor, to a performance of the comedy “The Merchant,” written by the venerable poet Diphilus in 5BC. By curious coincidence, the merchant of the play also crossed the blue Nirvana that is a sea, but his ship carried olives, not shoes. When it wrecked, the olives spilled ashore to delight people to this very day with their sea-salt taste, with laughter and hints of adventure.

The merchant of our story carried on to a Georgian port where all shoes walked off but a single pair. Never mind how hard he tried, our good merchant could not find a buyer for that pair. When he saw a barefoot beggar, his heart took pity and he gifted him the shoes. He counted the price with his own coins, threw them in the treasure chest, and set sail back to his homeland.

The sea was calm, under the stars the young merchant dreamed of his home in Plovdiv, the ancient Bulgarian city which some say is the oldest in Europe. He played a joyful song on his flute for the father of his beloved would be happy with all the riches in the cargo bellow: Ornate pottery, silk and spice to trade, exotic garments and a beautiful set of overstuffed ottomans.                 

The dreamy merchant didn’t notice the approach of the pirate ship nor hear its stealthy crew climbing aboard behind his back. He started pleading with them, but the pirate captain would not hear any of it. He had also loved a woman, or several; he had also sailed to fulfill some, or many fathers’ dowry escapades; and besides, he loved irony as much as gold and silver. The heartbroken merchant watched the pirates carry away the heavy treasure chests, and he heard the ghosts of shoes walking, the full moon was the face of his beloved. And he cried in silent prayer.

“Look,” shouted some of the pirates. A bright light came towards them from the East. It grew bigger and bigger. It could not be the sun for the moon still shone above the two ships. Crazed with fear, the pirates fled to their ship in panic leaving the good merchant and his treasures untouched.

The merchant watched the pirate ship dissolve into the darkness. When he looked up to the sky again, an icon painted by bright light was flying above him. The icon flew with him all the way back to Bulgaria. 

On the last night before the good merchant saw land, the Georgian beggar appeared in his dream and this is what he said: “I’m the brother of a renowned painter. I’d traveled a very long way but was stuck without any hope in Sinope. Until I met you. Your kindness helped me walk further on, all the way to the Georgian monastery where my brother was putting the finishing touches to an icon of the Virgin Mary. When he saw me, he fell on his knees for he thought me to be dead. I helped him to rise and told him all about my journey and you grace.”

The sea was calm, under the stars the young merchant dreamed of the daughter of a shoemaker…

***

Many are the stories about the icon of Virgin Mary Eleusa which would fly back and forth between Bulgaria and Georgia across the Black Sea. Until one year the icon grew tired of flying back and forth and gave a clear commandment to a Bulgarian monk in a dream. Since then, the icon of Virgin Mary Eleusa has settled in the Bachkovo Monastery where this Saturday, August 26th, 2023, some 700 years later, a Bulgarian film crew started making the feature film “Don’t Close Your Eyes.”

The miracles abound around us, don’t close your eyes to them!

They say in the movies: Location! Location! Location! A carefully researched and crafted setting, with all the stories it embodies, becomes a character in a film. A location cannot exist outside of us.

When a film goes into pre-production a Location Scout starts suggesting shooting locations to the film director. Different film directors look for different attributes based on the story and the creative vision.

Once the director picks a few locations from the photos, he or she goes to see them. Then, the location is locked, permits are issued, businesses and residents are notified and so on.

The final step before filming is a Technical Scout where the film director along with a stripped down creative and logistics crew walk the locations planning each shot.

We walked the locations for “Don’t Close Your Eyes” last Tuesday for 12 hours and then again on Wednesday for 10 hours.

Technical Scouts are vital to the success of a film production.

Story by Bogdan Darev. Editor Nelly Dareva. The photos are from Bachkovo Monastery "Assumption of the Virgin Mary" and Church "St. Cyril and Methodius" in Sofia.