TIFF to Present New Documentary by Andrey Paounov

Bulgaria, Germany, 2011, 90 min, Creative, History

"The Boy Who Was A King" tells the story of one of the most fascinating monarch figures in contemporary history. Simeon II of Bulgaria, cousin to the House of Windsor and a descendant of William the Conqueror. From his adventurous life as an exiled boy king who became a symbol of hope for a small European country, to his glorious return as Prime Minister of Bulgaria after half a century of Communist dictatorship. This "happy-end" Balkan version of Princess Anastasia’s story will tell the real life fairy-tale of one of the greatest experiments of democracy today. The image of the King appears as a balance between the biography of a real living person and the image that people create about it. The film tells its story through the people - by discussing a single contemporary historical figure, they tell us about themselves, their dreams and hopes, the dreams of a whole generation. A portrait of a kingdom – maybe not existing as a monarchy but existing in the hearts, dreams… Without taking sides or making propaganda this is a portrait–biography examining the lessons of post-communist transformation, meditating on the peculiarities of the Bulgarian case – King as a Prime Minister – a film about hope, faith, myths, reality, history, social anthropology and the long journey of democracy back home in Eastern Europe.

Born in 1974 in Sofia, Bulgaria. He has been a bartender in Prague, a cook in Washington DC, a gardener in Toronto, a boom operator in New York, and an accounting clerk in San Francisco. Graduated from the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2000. His first feature-length documentary Georgi and the Butterflies, presented at nearly 100 film festivals all over the world, won the Silver Wolf at IDFA 2004 and 12 other international awards. His second feature documentary The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories (both films produced by Martichka Bozhilova, AGITPROP, Bulgaria) premiered at the International Critics’ Week of Cannes 2007. It received 15 international awards among which the Grierson Award for best documentary - London FF 2007, Grand Prize - Documenta Madrid 2008, Grand Prize - Sunny Side of the Doc 2008.