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PRODUCTION Bulgaria

Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova in development with Cat in the Wall

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- The two Bulgarian directors are eying next spring for a London shoot

Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova in development with Cat in the Wall
Directors Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova, and feline

Following their controversial documentaries Uncle Tony, Three Fools and the Secret Service (2014) and The Beast Is Still Alive [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 (2016), London-based Bulgarian directors Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova are currently developing their feature-length fiction debut, Cat in the Wall [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova
film profile
]
. The production company is the directors’ own Activist 38, while Glasshead Limited (UK) will co-produce. The start of production is planned for the spring of 2018. 

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The screenplay, written by the two directors, is partially based on real events and follows Alena, a Bulgarian single mother living on a housing estate in London. Unlike her neighbours, Alena owns her flat and doesn’t live on benefits. Brexit hysteria and gentrification plans put pressure on the small community, which has been living in peace for a decade. In this context, a visit from Alena’s brother, Vlad, the adoption of a ginger cat and her relationship with her neighbours will push the protagonist down a path at the end of which she will have to decide whether London is still her home.

The budget amounts to approximately €375,000, out of which a little under €100,000 is already in place. Mileva tells Cineuropa that the directing duo fears the project won’t be supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, as more often than not the selection committees consist of established filmmakers who favour their own generation instead of younger, more vocal directors. The project has the support of the Bulgarian National Television. The two directors say that they are determined to make the film independently if the project doesn’t win a grant from the Bulgarian NFC. 

As for the tonal approach, Mileva says she cannot describe Cat in the Wall as a comedy, although there will be some absurd and funny moments. “We are aware of our politically charged style of filmmaking, and we know that once it’s made, it won’t be very light-hearted,” she explains.

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