- Occupation
Producer - Country
Bulgaria
Bozhilova Martichka
Dad Made Dirty Movies
"Dad Made Dirty Movies" chronicles the life and work of Stephen C. Apostolof (aka A. C. Stephen) - a former political prisoner, devoted Christian and family man and one of the greatest erotic filmmakers in the U.S. The film traces A. C. Stephen's escape from communist dictatorship in Bulgaria and his journey to Hollywood, where he made his American dream come true. Over the course of a film career that lasted two turbulent decades, A. C. Stephen made seventeen low-brow, low-budget softcore films. Today A. C. Stephen's legacy lives on, ridiculed or revered by both critics and fans alike. A. C. Stephen has taken a permanent place in the B-movie culture and is widely recognized as one of the greatest American erotic filmmakers.
The Boy Who Was a King
A 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 a 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 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. It is a film about hope, faith, myths, reality, history, social anthropology and the long journey of democracy back home in Eastern Europe.
The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories
A small town on the Danube and its hopeful citizens are about to embark on a bright new journey. Massive rusty cranes, foreign investors, and the joyful chants of cheerleaders carry the dream of a great nuclear future. Disturbed only by gigantic stinging mosquitoes and unhumbled by greenpeace protests, the townsfolk celebrate the atomic hurray by engraving the nuclear power plant logo on buildings and soup bowls. Amidst the apparent atomic prosperity, lies a past that no one wants to remember. An island holding terrifying secrets. A Labor Camp. Stories of shocking and horrible crimes loom on the city just like the dark clouds of mosquitoes descending on its citizens. A world instantly transformed by ideologies, regimes and dreams of economic prosperity. The tales of characters whose lives intersect in a sinister past, nuclear future and the stinging mosquitoes flying through time, sealing their fate together.
See You at the Eiffel Tower
Post-World War II Europe. The filmmakers Joris Ivens and Marion Michelle travelthrough Eastern Europe making a film about people, new life and hope. The present.Bulgarian filmmaker Valentin Valchev and his crew set out on a journey through post- Communist Eastern Europe. Valentin promised the 93-year-old Marion Michelle thathe would revisit the places she had filmed 60 years earlier and make a film aboutit. She promised to live to see his film. He brings her what he has found. Throughthe camera she reconnects with people from all those places. The modern filmmakers'search for what it means to make films in Europe now and what it meant then turnsMarion and Valentin's quest into an exploration of the general purpose of filmmaking. They both agree that a film is a way to engage with people rather than ideas.
Georgi and the Butterflies
This is a story full of butterflies, silk and schizophrenics, about misery, joy, optimism and compassion. As director of a home for psychologically challenged men, situated in a 16th century monastery near the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, Dr Georgi Lulchev fulfills the roles of a psychiatrist, neurologist, administrator, entrepreneur and amateur chef. Georgi's dream is to create a farm in the yard of the Home, where his troubled patients can raise snails, ostriches and pheasants, and produce silk fibres and soy bread. In a country where 80% of the population live in poverty, every day is marked by the struggle to survive. To overcome the shortage of funds, Dr Georgi Lulchev has devised myriad money-making schemes. Over the last 15 years, he has tried to implement some very unconventional business ideas, often with little success. But always he has resumed his efforts with unflagging enthusiasm.
The Last Black Sea Pirates
The Last Black Sea Pirates swim in testosterone and rugged tenderness in a land of wilderness and legends, far from civilization. For 20 years, Captain Jack The Whale and his crew have been drinking, dreaming and hunting for a treasure buried in the gully of Karadere, the pristine beach they call home. But someone else has got wind of Karadere’s treasures. When news of imminent change begin to find its way to this remote oasis, the pirates' world begins to unravel. Doubts erode the foundations of trust, conflicts brew, tensions are on the rise. In this crisis, emerges a contemporary fairy tale about the treasures we hunt and those that we find.
Corridor #8
CORRIDOR #8 is a huge EU infrastructural project meant to link the Black and the Adriatic Seas, already a decade in the planning. CORRIDOR #8 is a non-road movie about a road historically known as the European part of the Silk Road upon which St. Peter brought Christianity to Europe. It was also the road used by smugglers during the Yugo Embargo.
Family Fortune
Family Fortune, directed by Tonislav Hristov, is an intimate portrait of a Bulgarian family - the filmmakers own - that tries to make a living in the midst of unemployment and difficult circumstances. The country is joining the European Union in the beginning of 2007 and many young people have moved abroad to find better jobs and opportunities. Hristov himself has lived in Finland for eight years but the main focus of the film is on his family and their life in their homeland. The father has just lost his job after 36 years and is trying to find a new one, which proves to be hard - as well as the car equipment business his other son is trying to keep up.
Paradise Hotel
The young Demir dreams of a wedding. But his Roma tower block at the outskirts of a provincial town in Bulgaria is no place for romance. 25 years ago it had all it takes for panel socialist heaven: from parquet floors to intercom, the coveted hot water central, street lamps, benches under murmuring apple trees. Someone called the place Paradise Hotel – and the name stuck. But now? The parquet disappeared. The water stopped. The lights went off. And if you cross the field behind Paradise Hotel, you will see Bozhidar “The God Given” who protects everyone from evil and excessive happiness in a documentary about panel integration, love, misery, a lot of dreams, a little lyrics and one Gypsy wedding.
Concrete Pharaohs
Welcome to the picturesque world of the Kalderash Roma – a closed community of no more than 1 million people all over the world. "Concrete Pharaohs" take us on a journey into the lifestyle and traditions of the most hidden and intriguing Roma communities. A charismatic Gypsy baron will walk us through his stories and his new house. We will learn the hot trends in Roma tombstone design. We will go down into the underground homes of African granite, furnished with beds, wardrobes, stereos and a charged cell phone – a direct line to the other world. A celebration of life and afterlife in all of their manifestations.
"Dad Made Dirty Movies" chronicles the life and work of Stephen C. Apostolof (aka A. C. Stephen) - a former political prisoner, devoted Christian and family man and one of the greatest erotic filmmakers in the U.S. The film traces A. C. Stephen's escape from communist dictatorship in Bulgaria and his journey to Hollywood, where he made his American dream come true. Over the course of a film career that lasted two turbulent decades, A. C. Stephen made seventeen low-brow, low-budget softcore films. Today A. C. Stephen's legacy lives on, ridiculed or revered by both critics and fans alike. A. C. Stephen has taken a permanent place in the B-movie culture and is widely recognized as one of the greatest American erotic filmmakers.
The Boy Who Was a King
A 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 a 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 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. It is a film about hope, faith, myths, reality, history, social anthropology and the long journey of democracy back home in Eastern Europe.
The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories
A small town on the Danube and its hopeful citizens are about to embark on a bright new journey. Massive rusty cranes, foreign investors, and the joyful chants of cheerleaders carry the dream of a great nuclear future. Disturbed only by gigantic stinging mosquitoes and unhumbled by greenpeace protests, the townsfolk celebrate the atomic hurray by engraving the nuclear power plant logo on buildings and soup bowls. Amidst the apparent atomic prosperity, lies a past that no one wants to remember. An island holding terrifying secrets. A Labor Camp. Stories of shocking and horrible crimes loom on the city just like the dark clouds of mosquitoes descending on its citizens. A world instantly transformed by ideologies, regimes and dreams of economic prosperity. The tales of characters whose lives intersect in a sinister past, nuclear future and the stinging mosquitoes flying through time, sealing their fate together.
See You at the Eiffel Tower
Post-World War II Europe. The filmmakers Joris Ivens and Marion Michelle travelthrough Eastern Europe making a film about people, new life and hope. The present.Bulgarian filmmaker Valentin Valchev and his crew set out on a journey through post- Communist Eastern Europe. Valentin promised the 93-year-old Marion Michelle thathe would revisit the places she had filmed 60 years earlier and make a film aboutit. She promised to live to see his film. He brings her what he has found. Throughthe camera she reconnects with people from all those places. The modern filmmakers'search for what it means to make films in Europe now and what it meant then turnsMarion and Valentin's quest into an exploration of the general purpose of filmmaking. They both agree that a film is a way to engage with people rather than ideas.
Georgi and the Butterflies
This is a story full of butterflies, silk and schizophrenics, about misery, joy, optimism and compassion. As director of a home for psychologically challenged men, situated in a 16th century monastery near the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, Dr Georgi Lulchev fulfills the roles of a psychiatrist, neurologist, administrator, entrepreneur and amateur chef. Georgi's dream is to create a farm in the yard of the Home, where his troubled patients can raise snails, ostriches and pheasants, and produce silk fibres and soy bread. In a country where 80% of the population live in poverty, every day is marked by the struggle to survive. To overcome the shortage of funds, Dr Georgi Lulchev has devised myriad money-making schemes. Over the last 15 years, he has tried to implement some very unconventional business ideas, often with little success. But always he has resumed his efforts with unflagging enthusiasm.
The Last Black Sea Pirates
The Last Black Sea Pirates swim in testosterone and rugged tenderness in a land of wilderness and legends, far from civilization. For 20 years, Captain Jack The Whale and his crew have been drinking, dreaming and hunting for a treasure buried in the gully of Karadere, the pristine beach they call home. But someone else has got wind of Karadere’s treasures. When news of imminent change begin to find its way to this remote oasis, the pirates' world begins to unravel. Doubts erode the foundations of trust, conflicts brew, tensions are on the rise. In this crisis, emerges a contemporary fairy tale about the treasures we hunt and those that we find.
Corridor #8
CORRIDOR #8 is a huge EU infrastructural project meant to link the Black and the Adriatic Seas, already a decade in the planning. CORRIDOR #8 is a non-road movie about a road historically known as the European part of the Silk Road upon which St. Peter brought Christianity to Europe. It was also the road used by smugglers during the Yugo Embargo.
Family Fortune
Family Fortune, directed by Tonislav Hristov, is an intimate portrait of a Bulgarian family - the filmmakers own - that tries to make a living in the midst of unemployment and difficult circumstances. The country is joining the European Union in the beginning of 2007 and many young people have moved abroad to find better jobs and opportunities. Hristov himself has lived in Finland for eight years but the main focus of the film is on his family and their life in their homeland. The father has just lost his job after 36 years and is trying to find a new one, which proves to be hard - as well as the car equipment business his other son is trying to keep up.
Paradise Hotel
The young Demir dreams of a wedding. But his Roma tower block at the outskirts of a provincial town in Bulgaria is no place for romance. 25 years ago it had all it takes for panel socialist heaven: from parquet floors to intercom, the coveted hot water central, street lamps, benches under murmuring apple trees. Someone called the place Paradise Hotel – and the name stuck. But now? The parquet disappeared. The water stopped. The lights went off. And if you cross the field behind Paradise Hotel, you will see Bozhidar “The God Given” who protects everyone from evil and excessive happiness in a documentary about panel integration, love, misery, a lot of dreams, a little lyrics and one Gypsy wedding.
Concrete Pharaohs
Welcome to the picturesque world of the Kalderash Roma – a closed community of no more than 1 million people all over the world. "Concrete Pharaohs" take us on a journey into the lifestyle and traditions of the most hidden and intriguing Roma communities. A charismatic Gypsy baron will walk us through his stories and his new house. We will learn the hot trends in Roma tombstone design. We will go down into the underground homes of African granite, furnished with beds, wardrobes, stereos and a charged cell phone – a direct line to the other world. A celebration of life and afterlife in all of their manifestations.
Ramadan - Guide to Fame
Have you ever heard Bulgarian folk music? In this documentary which main characters have dedicated their lives to bring this music through centuries you certainly will. This film will present the spiritual leader of this music style – the charming and extremely gifted clarinetist Ramadan Lolov. By following his ghost from early 20 th century fairs to the modern cities streets we will explore the strength of personal charisma and illusions.
The Cars We Drove Into Capitalism
For many decades, every year, half of Europe was facing the complicated task of selecting a new car, among hundreds of new models arriving in to the market. The other half was free to choose from among 10 to 15 makes and models available to them from their States. Almost as Henry Ford put it about the Model T - Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants, as long as it is black. These products of the Social¬ist automotive industry were usually out of fashion, slow, clumsy, a pain to drive and repair - but still they were status symbols, no less important than a Chevy or a Mercedes in the West. Moreover, producing cars was also a question of national prestige - even countries without any automotive traditions (like Bulgaria or Romania) felt obliged to start production of their “own” makes, even if it meant only assembling some other car-maker’s rebranded models. In almost every family there was a much loved, long-awaited polished and groomed Moskvich, Trabi or Dacia. It represented a touch of freedom, opening new horizons to make that long-dreamed trip to East Germany, Bulgaria or Hungary, or at least to the lake or mountains. The Cars We Drove into Capitalism will be about the cars that are still alive in the memory of Europeans - as a sweet childhood remembrance or as a laughing stock. There will be stories of industrial espionage, design, politics, speed and love.
Have you ever heard Bulgarian folk music? In this documentary which main characters have dedicated their lives to bring this music through centuries you certainly will. This film will present the spiritual leader of this music style – the charming and extremely gifted clarinetist Ramadan Lolov. By following his ghost from early 20 th century fairs to the modern cities streets we will explore the strength of personal charisma and illusions.
The Cars We Drove Into Capitalism
For many decades, every year, half of Europe was facing the complicated task of selecting a new car, among hundreds of new models arriving in to the market. The other half was free to choose from among 10 to 15 makes and models available to them from their States. Almost as Henry Ford put it about the Model T - Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants, as long as it is black. These products of the Social¬ist automotive industry were usually out of fashion, slow, clumsy, a pain to drive and repair - but still they were status symbols, no less important than a Chevy or a Mercedes in the West. Moreover, producing cars was also a question of national prestige - even countries without any automotive traditions (like Bulgaria or Romania) felt obliged to start production of their “own” makes, even if it meant only assembling some other car-maker’s rebranded models. In almost every family there was a much loved, long-awaited polished and groomed Moskvich, Trabi or Dacia. It represented a touch of freedom, opening new horizons to make that long-dreamed trip to East Germany, Bulgaria or Hungary, or at least to the lake or mountains. The Cars We Drove into Capitalism will be about the cars that are still alive in the memory of Europeans - as a sweet childhood remembrance or as a laughing stock. There will be stories of industrial espionage, design, politics, speed and love.
Martichka Bozhilova has been producer of AGITPROP since 1999. She has a degree in law, art management and theology and graduated in European Documentary Production from EURODOC 2005. In 2006 Martichka Bozhilova received the International Trailblazer Award, launched by Robert Redford and Sundance Channel at MIPDOC in Cannes for creativity, innovation, originality and breakthrough in the field of documentary cinema. Lecturer at various European workshops and events in the field of documentary cinema. Official ambassador of the European Documentary Network (EDN) in Bulgaria. Co-founder and director of Balkan Documentary Center.
Selection:The internationally awarded “Georgi and the Butterflies” (Silver Wolf Award, IDFA 2004), “The Mosquito Problem and other stories” (World Premiere: Cannes 2007; Grierson Award, London Film Festival 2007; Grand Prize, Sunny Side of the Doc 2008), “Corridor #8” (World Premiere: Berlinale 2008 – FORUM, Ecumenical Jury Award; HOTDOCS 2008 - HBO Documentary Film Emerging Artist Award), as well as “See You at the Eiffel Tower” which premiered at IDFA 2008 – Reflecting Images Panorama. Martichka is one of the producers of the first BG omnibus film “15”. The short fiction film “Omelette” produced within “15” won Honorable Mention at Sundance 2009.
Agitprop Ltd.
68, Budapest str., ap.1
1202 Sofia
68, Budapest str., ap.1
1202 Sofia
Balkan Documentary Center
68 Budapesta Str
1202 Sofia
68 Budapesta Str
1202 Sofia
Docu Talents from the East 2005 - 2005
Docu Talents From the East 2006 - 2006
East European Stand at Sunny Side of the Doc - 2008