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    • NTC Award Ceremony
      New Talent Competition gives young filmmakers from Central, Eastern and Southern Europe the opportunity to present their outstanding debut or second film to the public. Join us on Sunday 1 December at 19h
    • Music at ENFF
      The Eastern Neighbours Film Festival welcomes special musical guests each year to enrich our program. For this 16th edition, we’re thrilled to present two talented young musicians: guitarist Antonio Peršak (CR) and violinist İdil Yunkuş (TR). Together, they will perform a traditional Balkan dance and folk song, highlighting the beauty of this music through the… Read more: Music at ENFF
    • Masterclass with Janez Burger
      This masterclass presents a unique opportunity to explore Burger's distinct storytelling style, genre use, and exploration of contemporary social issues. Join us on Saturday 30 November at 17h - Room 5
    • Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema
      Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema on Friday 29 November at 18h

Fear

Winner of the Grand Prix at the prestigious Black Nights Festival and Bulgaria’s candidate for the Oscar, this is undoubtedly a film of our time that provokingly and with a great sense of humor deals with the fear of “others” and “otherness”.

In a Bulgarian seaside village near the Turkish border – a crossing point for refugees – lives the stubborn widow Svetla, who has recently lost her teaching job due to the closure of the local school. Managing with life’s difficulties on her own, she goes hunting. There she meets a refugee from Mali who turns out to be a doctor. Since no one cares about him, Svetla invites him home and they gradually get closer. This becomes the reason for a series of violent acts by the villagers against them. The sea in the background flows freely and untouched by human action, while love rises above the low horizons. Beautifully shot in black and white, this heartwarming drama on human dignity and the ability to connect with the other despite all. The memorable performance of Svetlana Yancheva is set against the background of the hostile environment of today’s Eastern Europe. Provoking associations with Fassbinder’s masterpiece “Fear Eats the Soul”, this highly aesthetical film shrewdly balances dry humor with currently relevant political issues.

STRAH

Bulgaria | 2020 | 100 min

DIRECTOR: Ivaylo Hristov

PRODUCTION: Assen Vladimirov – Pro Film

CAST: Svetlana Yancheva, Michael Fleming, Ivan Savov, Krassimir Dokov

SCREENPLAY: Ivaylo Hristov 

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Emil Christov                                 

EDITING: Toma Waszarow

Friday 22.4. / 18:30h / Zaal 1 & Saturday 23.4. / 21:00h / Zaal 2

Special guest: Actor Michael Flemming

DUTCH PREMIERE

FESTIVALS & AWARDS (SELECTION) 

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2020 – Best Film | Golden Rose Bulgarian National Feature Film Festival – Best Film, Best Actress | Sofia International Film Festival 2021 – Audience Award | South East European Film Festival Los Angeles 2021 – Honorable Mention