Bezbog

Godless

In einer entlegenen bulgarischen Stadt betreut Gana ältere Menschen, manche davon sind demenzkrank. Sie stiehlt ihre Personalausweise, um sie auf dem Schwarzmarkt zu verkaufen. Ihre Mutter, mit der sie kaum spricht, ist arbeitslos. Auch die Beziehung zu ihrem Freund ist gelinde gesagt nicht gerade großartig, lässt sie sich doch mehr oder weniger auf die gemeinsame Morphiumsucht reduzieren. Doch nichts scheint für Gana Konsequenzen zu haben, nicht einmal die zufällige Ermordung eines Patienten …

[…] 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
Bulgarien / Dänemark / Frankreich 2016
color
99 Minuten
OmeU
Drehbuch Ralitza Petrova
Kamera Krum Rodriguez, Chayse Irvin
Schnitt Donka Ivanova, Ralitza Petrova
Ton/Sounddesign Momchil Bozhkov, Peter Albrechtsen
Mit Irena Ivanova, Ivan Nalbantov, Ventzislav Konstantinov, Alexandr Triffonov, Dimitar Petkov
Produzent*innen 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)
Produktion
KLAS Film Kniaz Boris I Street 156 1000 Sofia Bulgaria klasfilm@spnet.net www.spnet.net
Österreichpremiere
Weltpremiere / World Premiere
Locarno International Film Festival 2016

Premierenstatus / Premiere Status
Austrian Premiere