The founder of Sofia-based Little Wing Productions, Magdelena Ilieva, is a participant in European Film Promotion’s Producers on the Move initiative, taking place at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. She produced one of the most successful independent Bulgarian films completed without any state funding, Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s The Lesson [+lee también:
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Cineuropa: What drew you to producing, and what kinds of stories still feel urgent to you?
Magdelena Ilieva: I studied directing at NYU Tisch and later in Bulgaria. A small group of us – young Bulgarian directors – began making short films together; we shared resources and responsibilities in a very hands-on, informal way. That cooperation led to me producing the shorts Jump, Enemies and The Son. I gravitated towards producing tasks because I liked structuring a project without dropping out of the creative conversation. The first feature to come out of that ecosystem was The Lesson – it was shot on goodwill more than cash, yet it travelled to Toronto and San Sebastián, and found worldwide distribution.

From those earliest pieces onwards, our stories kept circling resentment and forgiveness. The question that wouldn’t leave us alone was: can we afford to stay angry? In a society repeatedly bruised by injustice, forgiveness isn’t a pious ideal; it is the only workable exit. This tension still shapes the films I produce and will eventually direct.

When did you realise you needed to direct, and how did those early team‑ups shape your voice?
We were all influenced by the Romanian New Wave – especially in its tone and shooting style. I wanted to build on that while also finding my own voice, which has to do more with irony and the sense of the ridiculous. Eternity Package was my attempt to do that. I grew up in a small southern town: there was little money and limited opportunities courtesy of the post-communist mafia. But also, there was lots of sunshine and neighbours who looked out for each other. Absurdity and tenderness lived side by side, and that balance is all over Eternity Package. After its premiere, Sofia IFF’s director, Stefan Kitanov, told me the film’s energy reminded him of the Czech New Wave. Coming from him, that was a like a compass reading: lightness can carry heavy subjects without trivialising them.

Why did you create Little Wing Productions? What gap did it fill for you and your collaborators?
While producing The Lesson, I needed a single home for the several directors I was working with, so I set up Little Wing Productions. The name points to fragile beginnings that can still take flight. Built around the same crew and our shared taste for original and surprising stories told with dry irony, the company lets me move fluidly between producing for others and directing my own work, while giving a wider circle of filmmakers room to launch theirs. In the last few years, it has grown into a genuine tribe of collaborators who value the stories we tell as much as working together.

Which projects are on your desk right now?
I am producing two prominent Bulgarian actors’ debuts: Kitodar Todorov’s Paris 18, which is in post-production, and Yana Marinova’s Voices, which is in financing. The wide audience knows them as actors, but they don’t suspect they have other aspirations as well. I also co-direct and co-write with my partner in the company, Jonathan Heidelberger. We have a big slate, and ironically, the only film in it that’s not yet funded is the one very close to my heart: You Better BE, following a closeted drag performer who brings his domineering mother into his Sofia flat after she’s diagnosed with late-stage cancer. He hides his nightlife; she hides how sick she really is. Their secrets clash on the only stage big enough to hold them – the drag comedy club where stand-up routines turn into coded arguments about love, shame and the little time they have left. Co-written with new Bulgarian voice Drago Bago and rooted in a real story, the film asks whether two brilliant, stubborn people can forgive each other before it’s too late.

Is it possible to find enough support for so many projects, especially debuts?
Creative Europe - MEDIA, with the invaluable assistance of Bulgarian representative Kamen Balkanski, supported my company for Eternity Package as a single project, and later backed our full slate. The Bulgarian National Film Center has been a key partner with development and production grants, especially under the current head, Peter G Todorov, who has brought a much-needed sense of openness. This kind of institutional support gives us the creative playground we need to develop and realise these projects.

What do you hope to gain from Producers on the Move?
Co‑production partners, sales agents and inspiring stories, naturally, but more than that, I want to meet people who are genuinely open – curious, collaborative and playful. This kind of connection matters, and if it leads to a film, even better.