Semaine de la Critique or the Critics' Week at the Cannes IFF (May 17 - 25) focuses on the work of emerging filmmakers from around the globe. Bulgarian filmmaker Ilian Metev who made a splash with his debut Goleshovo, will be in Cannes to present the world premiere of his visually stunning and deftly paced feature doc Sofia's Last Ambulance.
The Bulgarian-German-Croatian co-production will be screened alongside 6 other films: Aquí y allá (dir. Antonio Méndez Esparza, Spain/USA/Mexico); Au galop (In a Rush) (dir. Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, France); Les Voisins de Dieu (dir. Meni Yaesh, Israel/France); Hors les murs (Beyond the Walls) (dir. David Lambert, Belgium/Canada/France); Peddlers (dir. Vasan Bala, India); Los Salvajes (dir. Alejandro Fadel, Argentina).
Ilian Metev and producer Siniša Juričić pitched the film at the 2010 East European Forum. Last year, the film was presented at the Doc Launch presentation, a selection of notable soon-to-be-released docs.
Read also Choreography of Movement, a 2010 interview with Ilian Metev.
Sofia's Last Ambulance
Poslednata lineika na Sofia , Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, 75 min, Beta SP, Digi Beta, DVD, Personal View, Portrait, Social Issues, Society
In a city where 13 ambulances struggle to serve a burgeoning population of several million, 47-year old Krassi Yordanov is our unlikely hero: chain-smoking and saving lives in a non-stop 48-hour shift. Krassi is the emergency doctor on one of Sofia’s last ambulances and today is the worst day of his life. This is a film about the regular working day of Dr. Krassi, nurse Mila and driver Plamen, a team working on an ambulance in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Struggling against an avalanche of absurdities in a crumbling medical system and scarcely earning enough to make a living, these three are simply trying to do what they do best – save lives.