The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner
The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner | |
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Directed by | |
Written by | Ilija Trojanow (Novel) (Screenplay) |
Produced by | Karl Baumgartner |
Starring | Miki Manojlović Carlo Ljubek |
Cinematography | Emil Hristow |
Edited by | |
Music by | Stefan Valdobrev |
Release dates | March 14, 2008[1] (SIFF premiere) October 10, 2008[2] (worldwide release) |
Running time | 105 min. |
Countries | Bulgaria Germany Slovenia Hungary |
Languages | Bulgarian German Italian Slovenian |
The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner is a 2008 Bulgarian drama film, co-produced with Slovenia, Germany and Hungary. Its original Bulgarian title is Светът е голям и спасение дебне отвсякъде (transliterated as Svetat e golyam i spasenie debne otvsyakade), literally meaning The World is Big and Salvation Prowls on All Sides. (correct - "... is Lurking from Everywhere.")
The film is directed by and stars Miki Manojlović, Carlo Ljubek, and . It is based on the eponymous autobiographic novel by Bulgarian-German writer Ilija Trojanow.
The film has received generally favorable reviews from film critics and audiences around the world, having received more than 20 festival awards.[3] On January 20, 2010 it was revealed that the film had been selected among the nine films that will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 82nd Academy Awards.[4]
Plot[]
In a small Bulgarian provincial town during the 1980s, factory worker Vasil 'Vasko' Georgiev (Hristo Mutafchiev) has problems with the local Communist Party agent (Nikolai Urumov) who wants Vasko to monitor and report on the activities of his father-in-law, Bai Dan (Miki Manojlović). Bai Dan is the local "King of Backgammon" and is accused by the local authorities of conducting an illegal workshop in which he repairs bicycles and manufactures backgammon sets. Facing a moral dilemma, Vasko decides to emigrate beyond the Iron Curtain to Western Europe with his wife Yana (Ana Papadopulu) and his son Aleksander 'Sashko' (played as a child by Blagovest Mutafchiev). The family succeeds in crossing the border to Italy but face the prospect of lengthy detention in a bleak refugee camp until Vasko is able to pay for them to be smuggled into Germany.
The opening sequences jump abruptly from the birth of Sashko to the 2007 autobahn car accident in which his parents are killed on their way back to Bulgaria for the first time since their emigration. Sashko (played as an adult by Carlo Ljubek) is taken to a hospital with amnesia. His grandfather Bai Dan decides to go to Germany and try to help Sashko restore his past. He starts teaching him to play backgammon. After refusing to play, Sashko is forced by his grandfather to leave the hospital and to start a journey with him on a tandem bicycle—a journey back to Bulgaria, to Sashko's past, and to romance and prospects of a happier future.
Cast[]
Actor | Role |
---|---|
Miki Manojlović | Bai Dan |
Carlo Ljubek | Aleksander 'Sashko' Georgiev |
Vasil 'Vasko' Georgiev | |
Yana Georgieva | |
Baba Sladka | |
Agent | |
Ivo Chikagoto | |
Dorka Gryllus | Maria |
Dr. Schreiber | |
Stefan Valdobrev | Stoyan |
Awards[]
The film has received more than 20 awards at festivals around the world:[3]
2009[]
- Saturno d’Oro for Best Film, Best Actor Award for Miki Manojlović
Minsk International Film Festival - Golden Listopad for Best Film
- Audience Award
- Best Film Award, Jury Award
Festroia International Film Festival - Best Director Award, SIGNIS Award, Audience Award
- Best Director Award
- Best Actor Award for Miki Manojlović
- Audience Award
- Best Actor Award for Miki Manojlović
Vilnius International Film Festival - Grand Prix for Best Film, Special Jury Award for Acting to Miki Manojlović
2008[]
- Jury Special Mention, ‘Don Quijote Award’ of the International Association of the Film Clubs
- Best Film Award
- Audience Award
Golden Rose National Feature Film Festival - Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer
Warsaw International Film Festival - Jury Special Award
Bergen International Film Festival - Main Jury Award „Cinema Extraordinaire”
Sofia International Film Festival - Best Bulgarian Film, Audience Award
References[]
- ^ "Триумфална премиера на "Светът е голям и спасение дебне отвсякъде (Triumphant premiere of The World is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner)". Vesti.bg. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
- ^ "The World is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner". kino.dir.bg. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
- ^ a b "Festivals and awards". The World is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner Official Website. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
- ^ "9 Foreign Language Films Advance in Oscar Race". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
External links[]
- Bulgarian films
- Bulgarian-language films
- 2000s German-language films
- 2000s Italian-language films
- Slovene-language films
- 2000s multilingual films
- 2008 films
- Films shot in Bulgaria
- Bulgarian drama films
- 2000s drama road movies