Emilia's Friends

The Wall has fallen, long live the Wall. Bulgaria is still in a different world, that was clear at the last film festival in Thessaloniki. The Fipresci Prize from the international film press was given to the Bulgarian film Emilia's Friends. It just had to be possible to present the award to the film's director; Sofia is, after all, only three hours by bus from Thessaloniki. Forget it. According to our Bulgarian jury member, it takes at least three days to get a visa. The Wall has turned round: it isn't Bulgaria that is being difficult, but Greece. That Bulgaria is different, becomes subtly apparent from Emilia's Friends. In seven short stories, everyday life passes by, and that life inevitably reflects the changes that the country is going through. But it is even more surprising to see how close Bulgaria actually is, how familiar the people and the way they interact. Emilia's Friends is, in all its modesty, a striking film from a forgotten country.