A film from Belarus "situated" between two extremes - from rave parties in post-Soviet darkness to the reflection of neo-nationalism in a society where corruption and a brutal war-honouring culture divide the young generation. When Nikita begins his mandatory military service in 2020, he is confronted head-on with the deeply guarded secret of a deadly tradition that has existed for decades in post-Soviet Belarus: "dedovshtina," or the practice of violence and harassment that allegedly turns boys into men, but instead creates deep traumas for generations that have shaped the country's present day culture and identity.
September 21st
GRAND BALKAN LIVE
20:00, LARGO SOFIA
Glamorous stories from a peninsula with a dark past, narrated by the masters of unpretentious wit Elena Sergova & Kamelia Noeva, based on a serious dive into the archives of the recent past. The Grand Balkan Podcast surprises with unexpected and in-depth storytelling about personalities and events from the Balkans, but presented with a dose of humour and a sense of overwhelming lightness.
Elena and Kamelia will launch the new season of their serial author podcast for the first time in a live format, where the Sofia DocuMental audience will be able to immerse themselves in their first-person narratives, as well as engage with questions afterwards.
*The event will be held in Bulgarian.*
September 22
Open doors: "Kinoclub Super 8"
22.09, 15:00, Z JAZZ ROOM
"Kinoclub Super 8" is a collective of four artists united around the idea of collecting and preserving amateur home movies from Bulgaria shot on 8 mm, Super 8 and 16 mm. After over two years of working with donated and found films, our collection is now available at www.kinoclubsuper8.com and on YouTube.
We invite you to our special open day event within Sofia Documental where everyone can bring their forgotten 8 mm and Super 8 so we can watch them together!
Special guests of the event will be some of our contributors, who will tell more about their archives.
"Kinoclub Super 8" are Neda Milanova, Tihomir Stoyanov, Kevork Vanlyan and Bogomil Dimitrov.
September 23
AUDIO WALK WITH ‘URBAN DETECTIVE’ТИВ’
23.09, 13:00, CINEMA HOUSE, RESONANCE HALL
Urban Detective is a documentary podcast about urban stories - architecture, cultural history, myths and legends. In a special collaboration of its kind, the audience of Sofia DocuMental will have the opportunity to take part in an audio walk around Sofia, in which, guided only by the sound of the narration, they will immerse themselves in some of the most intriguing secrets of our city in the area, housed in various corners in the area around the Cinema House.
The audio walk will be followed by a meeting and conversation with the creators of Urban Detective - Ana Blagova, Yana Punkina and Radoslav Chichev for even more intriguing stories, details and answers.
