Draganov Svetoslav

City of Dreams
“City of Dreams” is the story of Dimitrovgrad, a model town named after Stalin’s friend and Bulgarian communist state founder Georgi Dimitrov, and built with the sweat and blood of thousands of young brigade volunteers immediately after WWII. An old regime pioneer and his democratic activist son confront each other, a ‘chalga’ pop-folk starlet and her ex-rocker-turned-producer hope for a breakthrough… Past and present Bulgaria collide: transition and future, nostalgia and luxury coexist in the parallel worlds of yesterday and today.

Amateurs
A documentary about the hilarious and heartbreaking moments in the life of the provincial Bulgarian town of Topolovgrad. There’s no work and no money…But there’s culture of amateur arts! Defying the poverty, the 110-year-old “Chitalishte”- amateur cultural centre is working at full steam, proud of its amateur theatre troupe and its authentic stage with a turntable in the middle. The equipment often breaks down and the turntable refuses to go around, but never mind. “Chitalishte” is the centre of the social life in the town. They hold concerts there, organise exhibitions and run elections campaign. But the big event every year is the Balkan Festival of Amateur Comedy Theatre.And since there's never been a theatre without intrigue, real-life stories weave in and out of the lives of two 46-year-old blondes: Krasimira, the Head of the Culture Department - the main person, responsible for the rise of culture in Topolovgrad, and Lyudmilla, a primary school teacher and actress in the amateur troupe. The former is a born winner, the latter a born loser. Two women from both sides of the coin of fortune mix their illusions and dreams with reality through laughter and through tears.

The Children of Drujba
1979, Beirut. At the peak of the civil war in Lebanon, Ahmad is a 15-year-old boy with an AK47 in his hand. His photo was published in LIFE magazine, and Ivan Garelov, a famous Bulgarian journalist, made a film about him. In the film, Ivan asked him: “What do you want to be?”, and Ahmad answered, “A doctor!”. “Do you want to study in Bulgaria?” – Ivan asked. “Yes!” – Ahmad answered. In 1967, the Bulgarian poet Blaga Dimitrova visited Vietnam. In the war-torn country she met a 7-year-old girl and loved her instantly. This was Ha. Blaga had no children and had the greatest desire to take Ha with her, though the child’s parents were alive. With the blessing of Vietnamese comrades, Blaga could take Ha to Bulgaria, and thus in 1969 Ha Hoang became Hanny Dimitrova. Ha and Ahmad are the Bulgarian symbols of Communist internationalism in action. These are "children of Drujba - comradeship", born in countries struggling for independence and socialism, nurtured and brought up in socialistic Bulgaria. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of socialism, these "children" are forced to grow up quickly and decide whether to go back to their old country or to remain as emigrants forever.

Life Is Wonderful, Isn’t It? 10 Years Later
This is the story of four boys, the remnants of a under-privileged family consisting of a mother, five brothers, two sisters and many missing fathers. Alexander is a professional hairdresser, craving to win an award from the most prestigious Bulgarian coiffeur competition. James is a former football prospect sporadically looking for a job. James is convinced that happiness shall befall him if he locates his father, long gone back to Zambia. Clement – James - mulatto step-brother - has immigrated to Antwerpen, Belgium. His Eastern European background and the color of his skin are but a part of the problems he faces in Belgium. Bozhidar [God-given] seems to be different from his step-brothers. Humble and methodical, he turns his back on secular vanity and enters a monastery. The characters aren't desperate, nor disappointed with life. They don't put any blame on their different fathers and shall forever love their deceased mother.

Dogumentary
In Sofia, where we come from, more than 10,000 dogs live on the streets. Society is divided - some people love them while others are afraid of them and want them killed. The situation has exacerbated this year after an old professor was slaughtered to death by a roaming pack of strays. This is why in “Dogumentary” we decided to show the human world through the eyes of two homeless, four-legged characters. Dog and Sofia are two dogs living care-freely on the streets of Sofia, Bulgaria. Sofia, however, gets captured and is taken to an animal shelter by the municipality organization for dog control called ”Ecoravnovesie”. Dog starts sniffing for her. Roaming freely through the city of Sofia he shows what the life of a lonely stray dog looks like. Through Sofia's life, however, we find out what the life of a dog in an animal shelter is.

Svetoslav Draganov is Bulgarian documentary film maker with more than 10 years of experience, director and producer of numerous documentary films. His substantial filmography inlcudes award-winning films such as Life is wonderful, isn't it? (2001), awarded at Leipzig Dokfilm Festival, Young at Heart (2002), awarded at Golden Chest Film Festival, Bulgaria, Amateurs (2006), awarded at Golden Riton Film Festival, Bulgaria, and others.

cineaste maudit production is an independent Bulgarian film company founded by Svetoslav Draganov in 1999 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Former works of the author and director are MDR award winner at Leipzig‟s Dokfilm festival, 2001 - “Life is wonderful, isn‟t it ?”, “The Merry Boys” - IDFA 2003, “Young at Heart” winner of special Prix Europa 2003 in Berlin, “Amateurs” - Golden Rhyton for the best Bulgarian documentary of 2005 and the prize of Bulgarian film critics and “Children of Drujba” – 2010 Prix Europa, Cottbus FF.