Bezbog
Godless
[…] a steely, compelling work that mixes harsh social realism with a powerful strain of laconic character sketch, while also sporting moody quasi-thriller inflections […] The film is set in a small, run-down town – it was shot in the province of Vratsa, in Northwestern Bulgaria – and begins in a cave in the nearby mountains where a man has been hung up and left to die by some criminal types. We then meet protagonist Gana, a dumpy, glum-faced, almost silent young woman who works as a carer for elderly patients, most of them suffering from dementia. Gana appears to be a doggedly committed nurse, but we soon discover that she is stealing her patients’ ID cards and selling them to a gang that uses them for money laundering – leaving the elderly victims to be prosecuted for their crimes, not least because crooked associates are doing the prosecuting. (Jonathan Romney, ScreenDaily)
Director's Biography
RALITZA PETROVA, born in 1976 in Bulgaria, studied fine arts as well as directing at the National Film and Television School in London. In 2007, she directed Rotten Apple, winning the Prix UIP at the Berlin International Film Festival. By the Grace of God premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival. Godless is Petrova’s first featurelength film and won her more than fifteen international awards, including the Golden Leopard for Best Film at the Locarno International Film Festival. // Films (selection): Rotten Apple (2007, short), By the Grace of God (2009, short), Bezbog (Godless, 2016)
Competition Fiction 2017
Ralitza Petrova
Bulgaria / Denmark / France 2016
color
99 minutes
OV with English subtitles
Screenplay Ralitza Petrova
Cinematography Krum Rodriguez, Chayse Irvin
Editing Donka Ivanova, Ralitza Petrova
Sound/Sounddesign Momchil Bozhkov, Peter Albrechtsen
With Irena Ivanova, Ivan Nalbantov, Ventzislav Konstantinov, Alexandr Triffonov, Dimitar Petkov
Producer(s) Rossitsa Valkanova (KLAS Film, BG), Eva Jakobsen, Mikkel Jersin, Katrin Pors (Snowglobe, DK), Laurence Clerc, Olivier Thery Lapiney (Alcatraz Films, FR), Philippe Akoka (Film Factory, FR)
Production
KLAS Film Kniaz Boris I Street 156 1000 Sofia Bulgaria klasfilm@spnet.net www.spnet.net
Austrian Premiere
Weltpremiere / World Premiere Locarno International Film Festival 2016
Premierenstatus / Premiere Status
Austrian Premiere