Established director Georgi-Jackie Stoev and documentarian Nikola Boshnakov, for whom Aurora [+leggi anche:
intervista: Nikola Boshnakov e Georgi-…
scheda film] is the debut fiction feature, talk about finally bringing a long-gestating story to the screen, revealing the secret world of homosexuality under communism that audiences rarely get to see. The film has celebrated its world premiere at the 30th Sofia International Film Festival.

Cineuropa: Why tell a story from the early days of communism in Bulgaria now?
Georgi-Jackie Stoev: I actually set this project in motion around 20 years ago, but it was repeatedly rejected in Bulgaria, mainly because the film included a lesbian character. For years, it just sat there. Things finally got moving much later, when we eventually received support from the Bulgarian National Film Centre. Nikola joined around that time, but even then, it wasn’t enough. We actually halted the project until we had found a co-producer. The Italian involvement came at the very end and gave the film the push it needed to happen.

Can you tell us more about the real story behind Aurora?
G-JS: This sort of urban legend came from a close friend, Ivaylo Manev, credited as the person whose idea the movie was based on, who had a relationship with a prostitute. She suddenly disappeared, and when they met again, he noticed scars on her back – she had been involved with a high-ranking State Security officer whose pride was hurt, and he had her sent to a labour camp. Here, the plotline intertwines with a famous Bulgarian lesbian artist close to power, but still under threat. She tries to save the prostitute, so she sacrifices herself and sleeps with the colonel, despite her deep aversion to men. That sacrifice was one of the key elements that moved us and made us want to tell this story.

The film touches upon homosexuality during socialism, which is rarely explored.
G-JS: Homosexuality was completely pushed underground, yet it existed. Even gay people close to power lived in fear because others could always potentially turn against them. It was a dangerous environment.

How did the script evolve over the years, especially after Nikola joined?
Nikola Boshnakov: From the beginning, we shared a similar vision – about cinema and about the world. That’s why we’ve kept on working together. When I stepped in, there was already an outline and earlier drafts, but what we did together was to build on that: to add characters, subplots and details. Those elements gave the film its colour.

G-JS: The film balances drama with humour. The story itself is deeply dramatic, but we didn’t want to treat it only that way. Many films have done that already. Our idea was to look at it with irony as well. It is something that helped people survive during those years.

Do you think the passage of time made it easier to approach the story with humour?
G-JS: Maybe. Distance helps, but we are not that far removed either. Still, time allows you to look at things differently, to find the funny side of a tragedy. I don’t think films should have overly clear messages. When a movie tries too hard to say something specific, it often doesn’t work. What matters is telling human stories – engaging, funny and moving. If the audience laughs, feels and maybe even cries, then they’ll find their own meaning. We’re not trying to provide answers, but to ask questions.

How much room did you leave for improvisation during the shoot?
NB: Quite a lot. We didn’t have much time for rehearsals, so many things were improvised on set. But we chose the cast carefully, so the actors were very close to their characters. That made improvisation natural and effective.

You worked with both established and emerging actors.
NB: Yes, that was a conscious choice. There’s a certain fatigue felt when it comes to familiar faces in Bulgarian cinema, so we wanted a mix. We brought in well-known actors like Koyna Ruseva and Hristo Garbov, but in roles that are quite different from what people expect. And we also worked with young actors who were cast straight from the theatre academy in Sofia. It was a risky combination, but it worked very well.

What about the Italian cast?
NB: That came thanks to Krasimir Ivanov, who handled the Italian casting and has close personal connections there. Through him, we reached actors like Brenno Placido, which was quite a long process, and Franco Nero, who was very precise and wanted to read the script and understand his role in detail before joining. So yes, with the help of our Italian partners, it became a proper co-production effort.

Jackie has called it “a political film with sex and a sexual film with politics”. Do you think a movie today can succeed without those two elements?
G-JS: More without politics and less without sex. But for us, neither is really the point.

NB: As our late friend sound designer Johnny Penkov used to say, the difference between politics and sex is that there is more perversion in politics.