06/07/2023 - The seasoned Bulgarian director unpicks the personal motivation underpinning his sixth feature and reveals insights about his lead actress, amongst other topics

We sat down to speak with Stephan Komandarev, who has just presented his latest film, Blaga’s Lessons [+see also:
film review
interview: Stephan Komandarev
film profile], in the Crystal Globe Competition of the 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. It is the third part of his social trilogy on present-day Bulgaria, coming on the heels of Directions [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stephan Komandarev
film profile] (2017) and Rounds [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stephan Komandarev
film profile] (2019). Besides some interesting details about his research into telephone scamming – a subject that the plot centres on – Komandarev shares his personal views on the country’s grim future prospects.

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Cineuropa: The third part of your trilogy differs from the first two – it does not focus on a professional clique, but rather on the social stratum of elderly people, one of the most vulnerable. What prompted this shift?
Stephan Komandarev: The concept for the three films was to create instant reflections of Bulgaria’s here and now. We started with taxi drivers in Directions and continued with policemen in Rounds, since both professions deal with a wide variety of people on a daily basis. Then my father, whom I was very close to, passed away, so the idea to make the third film about retired people came somewhat naturally. Together with my co-scriptwriter, Simeon Ventsislavov, we wanted to dedicate it to our parents’ generation, which turned out to be the most heavily affected by the political transition in Bulgaria after the fall of the Berlin Wall, since it deprived them of the most basic things. My father was a professor at the Bulgarian Academy of Science, but in his twilight years, he was having a hard time paying his central heating bills, so I would help him. His pension was just enough to pay for his medicine.

How did you work on the script, and does the story relate to real-life events at all?
After deciding on the social group to focus on, we started looking for a dramaturgical framework in order to develop a conflict. We dug into the phenomenon of telephone scamming, as it is something that happens regularly, and seniors are the usual target. It is also a relevant starting point for an investigation into what has happened to elderly people’s dignity in the post-communist reality. We also did some field research into how the scamming scheme actually works – we were aided by policemen whom we befriended while making Directions, and by an investigative journalist who introduced us to scam victims, but also to a real-life telephone scammer. We met the guy secretly, and he literally acted out all of the common scenarios for us. He was incredibly good in the roles, and the whole thing was quite convincing, actually. Then we took what he showed us and used it in the film. After we’d collected enough facts and experiences, we developed the script with the support of the Mediterranean Film Institute, again with Nikos Panayotopoulos on board as a script doctor, like in previous projects. Meanwhile, Blaga’s character is inspired by my own Literature teacher, whom I respected a great deal.

How did you convince Eli Skorcheva to participate? This is her big comeback on screen after a 30-year hiatus.
It all happened by chance. During the pandemic, our casting director, Alexander Kosev, bumped into Eli in a park where they both walked their dogs. He recognised her and asked her if she would be interested in playing in a film again after she’d shelved her acting career voluntarily. She said she could be tempted to if the script was good enough, and fortunately, what we sent her soon afterwards grabbed her attention. Blaga’s character is, however, very different from Skorcheva herself, who is a very upbeat, cheerful person.

Criticism of capitalism in Bulgaria is a risky business, since one can easily be accused of harbouring communist views, which is a huge offence in the former Eastern Bloc. Blaga’s Lessons, though, does not hesitate to comment harshly on the consequences of the market economy.
Over three decades, Bulgaria lost one-third of its population, without even experiencing a war. Many educated and highly qualified people were sucked out by the Western economy; later on, the poorly paid work force left as well. Driving around the country, one encounters plenty of abandoned factories. Schools and hospitals in the provincial towns are closing down, and education has been devaluated in general – the film subtly reflects this reality. In short, Bulgaria is turning into a depopulated, peripheral country, and what I fought for in strikes on the streets 30 years ago is a far cry from the situation we are in now. I am not sure if the system established here is capitalism or rather some absurdist surrogate, but I can bravely state that the expectations of my generation were not met either by the newly established order or by us joining the European Union. The least I can do is interpret those issues in my films.