"A SHARPLY EXECUTED,
SUPERBLY PERFORMED BULGARIAN
TRAGIC DRAMEDY"

- hollywood reporter -

credits ©2016 abraxas films all rights reserved.

If you thought that the infamous gold watch in Pulp Fiction caused a few problems, you should see what happens with the one in Glory (Slava), a sharply executed, superbly performed Bulgarian tragic dramedy where the lives of a cosmopolitan PR woman and lonely railroad worker come together in some highly unfortunate ways.

- hollywood reporter -
  • about
  • synopsis
  • filmmakers

The quiet life of reclusive railroad trackman Tzanko Petrov is thrown in turmoil when he finds millions of cash spilled on the tracks and turns them in to the police. The transport ministry‘s self-absorbed chief of PR Julia Staykova sees in this a perfect opportunity to create a diversion from an ongoing corruption scandal and organizes a publicity stunt, where Tzanko is pronounced a hero and awarded a new wristwatch by the minister. Unfortunately, Tzanko’s personal “Slava” timepiece, an invaluable family heirloom, gets misplaced in the process, kick-starting his desperate struggle to recover both his watch and his dignity.

“Glory” is the second installment in Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov‘s “newspaper clippings trilogy” of stories inspired by headlines from Bulgarian press, the follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut “The Lesson” (2014).

  • about
  • synopsis
  • filmmakers

KRISTINA GROZEVA & PETAR VALCHANOV

Kristina Grozeva was born in 1976 in Sofia. She graduated from the Sofia State University and for a while worked as a journalist for Bulgarian TV, before she decided to enroll at the National Academy for Theater and Film Arts (NATFA), where she studied film directing. Her student short films won several awards at international student film festivals.

Petar Valchanov was born in 1982 in Plovdiv, the son of painter Valchan Petrov. Petar graduated art school in his home town in 2000, before moving to Sofia to pursue film directing at NATFA. This is where he met Kristina, which marked the beginning of a prolific collaboration that would extend beyond their student years into a life of filmmaking, which they created through remarkable loyalty and resilience.

Starting with the TV film “Forced Landing” in 2010, the two went on to write, produce and direct the short film “Jump”, which was nominated for the European Film Awards 2013 at the Clermont-Ferrand ISFF 2013, making it the first Bulgarian short ever nominated for the prize. The following festival success and distribution deals for “Jump” made it possible for them to independently produce their feature debut, “The Lesson”, for which they had been denied public funding. The film won multiple awards at San Sebastian, Tokyo, Warsaw, Thessaloniki, Gothenburg, Transylvania, Sofia and many other festivals.

Their second feature, “Glory”, premiered in the main competition of the Locarno IFF 2016, winning the International Federation of Film Societies award. The film has collected 44 international awards since, including, among others, the best film awards in Hamptons, Boulder, Les Arcs, Arras, Kolkata, Gijon and Herceg Novi.

Kristina and Petar have a 7-year-old daughter, Sibila. They recently finished shooting their third film, “The Father”.

DECHO TARALEZHKOV

Decho (“ch” as in “chair”, “taralezh” meaning “hedgehog”) was born in 1983 in Sofia in the family of the late Bulgarian composer Decho Taralezhkov Sr. He holds a BA in Dramaturgy from NATFA. He spent a few years working on various film and TV projects, which ended up on the shelf, until in 2015 Kristina and Petar approached him to co-write “Glory”. They had separately met him before and worked together on previous unreleased projects. Kristina and Petar‘s assumption that Decho would fit well into their creative universe proved to be correct: “Glory” won best screenplay awards in Dublin, Gijon, Valence and Herceg Novi.

Currently, Decho is developing with Kristina and Petar the final chapter of their news clippings trilogy, the most ambitious project yet. He also became part of their production company, taking on various duties in production assistance and filming.

Decho is the singer and guitarist of Bulgarian indie-/art-rock group Stop the Schizo.

cast
  • STEFAN DENOLYUBOV
  • MARGITA GOSHEVA

Stefan Denolyubov is a Bulgarian actor and musician, based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Originally from the coastal town of Varna, he grew up attending music school and went on working as a saxophonist, but his career in music didn‘t last long as he soon decided to pursue his true passion - theater. He got a BA in Drama Acting from Bulgaria‘s National Academy for Theater and Film Arts (NATFA). In the years after he became well known for his performances in both theater and film productions, garnering a bunch of local and international awards. He is a frequent winner of the best actor award at the Golden Rose Bulgarian film festival in his home town of Varna, having collected three prizes since 2012. His latest role was in “Directions”, directed by Stefan Komandarev, which premiered in “Un Certain Regard” in Cannes 2017.

His collaboration with directors Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov began with TV buddy drama “Forced Landing” and extended over their European Film Awards nominated short “Jump” and their feature debut “The Lesson”. Stefan underwent a shocking transformation for his role in “Glory”, which brought him best actor awards at the Avvantura festival in Zadar, Croatia, the 35th Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran, and the Golden Linden International Film Festival in Bulgaria. Stefan is currently an integral part of many theatre troupes and cinema projects.

cast
  • STEFAN DENOLYUBOV
  • MARGITA GOSHEVA

Margita Gosheva is a Bulgarian actress based in Sofia, Bulgaria. She received her BA in Drama Acting from BulgariaÕs National Academy for Theater and Film Arts. She plays leading roles in the most successful Bulgarian films of the recent years: “The Lesson (Urok)” (2014), “Glory” (2016) and “Light Thereafter” (2017). Her performance in “The Lesson” was awarded at festivals in France, Brazil, India, Romania, Lithuania and Bulgaria. Her role in “Glory” got her best actress accolades in Iran, Montenegro, France and Bulgaria.

Margita is also a dedicated theater actress, headlining various productions of the Sfumato Theater Laboratory in Sofia, and guest-starring in international theater co-productions with Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Romania and Bulgaria. In 2015 she co-founded the Sunday Theater School for Children, where she and her husband, actor Ivan Barnev, teach acting to kids aged 11-15. In July 2017 she joined the troupe of the Plovdiv Drama Theater.

  • videos
  • trailer 1
  • trailer 2

WIDE/FILM MOVEMENT/EYE ON FILMS presents an ABRAXAS FILM/GRAAL FILMS/SCREENING EMOTIONS/APORIA FILMWORKS/RED CARPET production STEFAN DENOLYUBOV MARGITA GOSHEVA "GLORY" KITODAR TODOROV MILKO LAZAROV costume designer KRISTINA TOMOVA film editor PETAR VALCHANOV production designer VANINA GELEVA director of photography KRUM RODRIGUEZ executive producers POLY ANGELOVA LENA MOSHOLOVA KRISTINA GROZEVA produced by PETAR VALCHANOV KRISTINA GROZEVA KONSTANTINA STAVRIANOU IRINI VOUGIOUKALOU with the support of BULGARIAN NATIONAL FILM CENTER GREEK FILM CENTER BULGARIAN NATIONAL TELEVISION CENTRAL COOPERATIVE UNION written by KRISTINA GROZEVA PETAR VALCHANOV and DECHO TARALEZHKOV directed by KRISTINA GROZEVA PETAR VALCHANOV

acclaim

“Sometimes a simple premise leads to deep results. Such is the case with “Glory” (“Slava”), Buglarian directors Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s stirring third feature, which plays like a parable that keeps expanding its themes.” by ERIC COHN

- INDIEWIRE -

“Not a predictable one, however, which is all to the benefit of this incisive, funny cinematic parable, shot and edited in a disarming, documentary like style.” by GLENN KENNY

- THE NEW YORK TIMES -

“Glory has a premise that Frank Capra or Preston Sturges might have loved“ by ALLAN HUNTER

- SCREEN DAILY -

“Glory was shown in the main competition of the Locarno Inter-national Film Festival, scoring points as both a social drama and a political film.” by STEFAN DOBROIU

- CINEUROPA -