Мюзикълната фикция във филма „АкаТаМуС” (1988)

Author(s): Rumyana Karakostova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2015

The article is an abstract of a comprehensive study on the earliest Bulgarian musical films commissioned by the government under Socialism over the decades (since the mid - 1950s until the late 1980s). As the last in the research selection the movie AcaDaMuL (an abbreviation for Academy of Dance, Music and Lyric) is of interest due to both its genre style, being the first ever Bulgarian dance film musical, and from the vantage point of the complicated historical context and the concomitant social unrest immediately preceding the political changes. Made in 1988 and inspired by film director Georgi Djulgerov and choreographer Neshka robeva, its film score was written by five Bulgarian composers: Darin Burnev, Plamen Djurov, Stefan Dragostinov, Tsenko Minkin, Bojidar Petkov and jazz musicians Yildiz Ibrahimova and Theodosii Spassov. Made in a nonconformist vein, the movie remains unique in terms of its creative experiment in Bulgarian feature film: a new cinematic synthesis of stage media used in rhythmic gymnastics, pantomime, acrobatics and narrative folklore-based dance and contemporary auteur music. And though the movie has not been digitised and is not available online, AcaDaMuL has not slid into oblivion where cultural history of the previous century is concerned, which is proved by the present recognition and international creative achievements of the National Art dance company established by Neshka robeva years later and comprising gymnasts and folk dancers. Their production Twin Kingdoms (music by Georgi Andreev) ranked eighth among Broadway’s (this Mecca for musicals) best foreign show productions at the turn of the millennium. The stylistic invention, undoubtedly inspired by the experience gained in AcaDaMuL, has really acquired the significance of a musical stage phenomenon, which is now Bulgaria’s hallmark.

Не останаха табута непрегазени: „Котаракът на равина“

Author(s): Nadezhda Marinchevska / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

The article deals with the ever more discernable trend in contemporary comics and animated film to address problematics for adults. Both arts have been distancing themselves over the last decades from the traditional archetypes and codes to explore new thematic areas such as traumatic experience, political or religious aggression, violating privacy, etc. Comics/animated works for adults have much more to do with the European and world art house films than with the overexposure of stereotypical superheroes such as Batman or Captain America. Comics approached also an unusual for their development genre, social and existential drama, to invest its profound messages with a new artistic form. The article is an analysis of The Rabbi’s Cat by Joann Sfar and Antoine Delesvaux. It is a borderline case with two addressees, blending comical with serious. Within its funny narrative structure, the film focuses on deep conflicts-religious, political, bureaucratic, nationalistic-chauvinistic, racial, generational, etc. The undertone of the dialogue refers to theological and philosophical disputes, questioning every fanatical interpretation of lines of the Talmud, Bible or the Koran. a scathing post-modern ironic stance towards blind literal adherence is the message conveyed by this movie. a comparative analysis is made of the visual, compositional and verbal specifics of the comics and the animated film.

(Не)приличният Ерос в японската визуална култура (шунга, хентай, анимация, кино)

Author(s): Andronika Martonova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

Japan’s visual culture articulates eroticism in a specific and contrasted to the West way. Sexual theatre of East Asia is performed by other, different rules, established to a large extent by Chinese culture. In Japan, both fine models of the established artistic tradition (abuna-e, shunga, muzan-e, etc.) and contemporary graphical and erotic and even pornographic artefacts (manga/anime, gekiga, hentai) are created. The aesthetics and canon of traditional erotic prints strongly influence the modern forms of visual arts: illustrations, sketches, cartoons, manga. The idea of a taboo and of decency/indecency in the erotology of the country comes from the processes of westernisation and modernization. In contemporary aspect, it is interesting to trace how these layered erotic images transform into manga/anime productions (in the context of hentai), but also in Japanese art animation and feature film. The analyses are focused on three works: the animations The Sensualist/好色一代男) by dir. Yukio Abe (1991) and Belladonna of Sadness/哀しみのベラドンナ by dir. Eiichi Yamamoto (1973), and the feature Air Doll/空気人形 ) by dir. Hirokazu Koreeda (2009). The analysis is contextual and studies the interrelations with the traditional, but also with the historical and culturological basis of Japan, with the development of literature and cinematography. The field of discourse is placed within the special aspects of the environment and the specifics of Japanese mindset.

Интерпретации на травматичността във филма на Ари Фолман „Валс с Башир“

Author(s): Alexander Staykov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

The paper interprets some of the main constructs of the message conveyed by Israeli director Ari Folman in his Waltz with Bashir. The subjects underling the storyline of the feature, are charged with enormous semantic strain. Seeking to metaphorically ease this strain, the author creates a multifarious and morphologically complicated work. The exploration is focused on just one of all the layers, i.e. on the interpretations of such a multifaceted phenomenon as traumatised personal and national memory. Using animation mixed in with documentary, the film presents the autoreflexive process of ‘archaeologising’ individual memory. Oblivion is a function equal in importance to remembering, but evoking the lost memories is a key to the rehabilitation of personal identity. Here the processes of recollecting are of paramount significance. Those devoid of their memories are devoid of their own past and in fact, of identity. And the entire reservoir of personal memory shapes collective memory. Principal points underscoring these interpretations in various theoretical contexts are defined in the article. Research tools of the fields of psychoanalysis, cultural anthropology, history and psychology are used for the purpose. Three keys to the subject terms are used: ‘memory’, ‘pain’ and ‘guilt’ for the needs of the illustrative stability of the text.

Комиксът като възможност в музикалното израстване

Author(s): Petia Alexandrova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

The article broaches some of the practices of using comics as an element of teaching music at schools in Bulgaria. One of them is given in the book Histoire de la musique en bandes dessinees (1989) by Deyries Bernard, Denis Lemery, Michael Sadler. Giving the main figures and styles, the book excels in a very serious treatment of the history of music, which however presets its faults: it offers too much information, long and difficult to read headlines and lack of a storyline. The second one is the Fortissimo at Lessons programme, the notebook of which includes 9 comic stories for 9 instruments on 9 pages by 9 authors. The notebook does not exist just for the sake of it, but is a final stage in a course and though relieved from exhaustiveness, it offers a glossary of a kind. Every page features an individual story and could be rearranged at will. The illustrations are made by different artists in different manners. The third book, Tales of The Magic Flute (2013) is also available with a CD of music pieces. It apparently relies on our preset disposition to Mozart and to his The Magic Flute, which makes a luxurious printing product, but stakes mostly on Penko Gelev’s illustrations. The pictures live their own life independently not only from the text, but also from Mozart. All the above cases succeed in combining educational ambitions with adequate entertaining adaptations for the young without compromising on quality.

Европейско кино – глобално и локално

Author(s): Andronika Martonova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

Арткиното като съпротива – българските опити от 50-те години

Author(s): Ingeborg Bratoeva-Daraktchieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2015

This paper explores the first attempts of Bulgarian directors to create art-films, made in the end of the 1950’s in a very complicated political context. The key titles in the process are „The Live Is Going Slowly By...“ (1957) and „On a Small Island“ (1958), crafted by their directors Binka Zhelyazkova and Rangel Vulchanov in neorealist style. After a historical review of the establishment of socialist realism as the official artistic style in Bulgarian cinema in the 1940’s, the study focuses on the moderation of political pressure in 1956, which gave Bulgarian directors the illusion of artistic freedom. In this context Binka Zhelyazkova and Rangel Vulchanov, exploiting the neorealist style, put with their works the beginning of the non-conformist films in Bulgaria. Their artistic attempts provoked a massive confrontation with the communist censorship, which resulted in suspension of the films from domestic display, from international distribution and from festival competitions. However, in our time “The Live Is Going Slowly By...“ (1957) and „On a Small Island“ (1958) are considered milestones in the development of Bulgarian feature cinema, and, at the same time, the Bulgarian (albeit very modest) contribution to the entire neorealist artistic tradition.

Българското късометражно игрално кино (1948-1991)

Author(s): Petia Alexandrova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2015

The article renders systematic the feature shorts of the period 1948– 1991. Feature short is an operational term for a film the running time of which is less than one hour and on a rare occasion, for a film built on certain dramaturgic and aesthetic principles. Several models are being considered concerning the structure and the thematic orientation of the works. The most spread type is a feature film of several short stories, filmed by the same director, but with storylines in their own right, united by a common creative manner and more often than not using a dramatic glue to hold the narrative thread together (e.g. The Penleve Case and Men on a Business Trip). Often it is the genre that binds them together: in Bulgarian practice, this model is most popular with comedies and children’s flickers (Porcupines Are Born without Bristles and Children Play Out-of-Doors ). Yet another model is a combination of short films by different directors, united by the same idea or subject. This is again made predominantly in genre films, for instance in the comedies Marital Jokes and Divorces, Divorces.... Aesthetically, more interesting are those experiments where individual stories are not bound together at a purely thematic level, but rather at a deeper one: Armando. The White Horse, A Moment of Freedom (The Old Man and I Want to Live), At Dawn, and especially Colourful World. Still, a risk of an unbalanced proportion between the short films in terms of their artistic qualities is possible here. The last model is that of one-piece shorts. Some of these have never been offered for screening in whatever combinations and have remained almost unknown. These works offer the greatest variety of sub-genres: poems, satires, experiments, impressions, etc.: Vaskata, The Dash, Looking for a Remembrance, Jesse James vs. Lokum Shekerov, A Shooting Day and Where We Have Met?. In the 1980s, filmmakers viewed shorts more pragmatically as a chance to make their debut or make it into TV. Thus new directors with new films appeared on the stage: A Woman for Monasi, Unnecessary Entr’acte and Night Rate.

Профилактика и цензура. Ролята на държавна сигурност и случаят „Една жена на 33“

Author(s): Deyan Statulov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2015

This article explores the role of the State Security Services (DS) in the censorship machine of the communist authorities and institutions, running and implementing production processes as well as in the distribution of Bulgarian feature films in the period 1948–1989. Using archival documents of the Central Committee (CC) of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) from the repository of the Central State archives, the influence mechanisms of the DS are traced out. In the course of this study it becomes clear that the State Security Service would not deal with the concrete artworks directly as a censorial overseer, but rather the operative work of the security agents often directly influenced the future suppression of both films and scripts and of authors. Using newly found archival items from the repository of the Central State archives, the article traces out stage by stage the story of the movie A Woman at 33, from its premiere to its public condemnation and banning from theatrical distribution.

Списание „Кино“ – наследникът на „Киноизкуство“ след 1991 година

Author(s): Rosen Spasov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2015

The first issue of Kino i Photo (Film and Photo) journal was released on 20 February 1946. In its early years, the journal has been renamed on more than one occasion: Kino i Photo (1946–1951), Kino/Film (1951–1955) and Kinoizkustvo/Cinematic Art (1955–1991). The vision, editorial offices, and the staff also changed over time. A number of editors- in-chief working with different teams succeded each other. Following the political changes of 1989, a period similar to that of its early years commenced: indistinct editorial policies and financial instability, frequent reshuffles of editors and editorial boards. In 1991 the journal readopted its name of 1951. The rationales for that was a quest of authenticity in an attempt the new name to reflect the changes and gradually shake ideologization off its content. This article traces out the dynamics within the journal following 1991. The study focuses on the fact that Kino is for the time being the sole independent journal specialised in film in Bulgaria. In 2006 the journal, enjoying academic status celebrated its 60th anniversary, which is the longest-running publication of its kind in Bulgaria. Over the recent decade it has continued searching for fresh audiences and meeting adequately the market demand, remaining at the same time true to its vision and content.

Филмови модели на зрителския успех в българското игрално кино в началото на ХХI век

Author(s): Alexander Donev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2015

The article deals with the typology of the most watched Bulgarian feature films at cinema theatres in historical and contemporary contexts. The levels of viewership success, the nature of funding and the genre specifics of the most watched Bulgarian movies in the 1970s and 1980s and beyond are compared analytically. A special emphasis is placed on the film melodrama as the most adequate genre interpretation by means of popular art in periods of social crises. The structures of the melodramatic storyline and the melodramatic characters are analysed based on the movie Tilt. Particular attention is paid to the social relevance of the film compared to its contemporary reality of post-communist transition. Objects of interest are also other popular recent Bulgarian feature films (Mission London, Love.net, etc.) that have revived some seemingly forgotten national and artistic archetypes, through their interaction with some popular genres in contemporary European film.

Рецензия за книгата на проф. д-р Надежда Маринчевска „Анимационните хибриди“

Author(s): Nevelina Popova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2015

The Politics and Poetics of Suppression and “Memory Loss”

Author(s): Boris Škvorc / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2015

The article discusses the role of subculture in Croatia and wider South Slavic context during and after the transitional period from the hegemony of Yugoslav communist system to the national state and its new narratives. The introduction discusses the modalities of memory loss in regard to the Yugoslav system of values. It focuses on the situation in popular culture and the new media, arguing that the process of memory loss has been orchestrated by the new national hegemony in both the media and politics and in the subcultural environment of marginal groups. The emphasis is put on the discursive tactics that have contributed to this process in the public sphere. The second part of the article concentrates on the relationship between the private and the public spheres and pays special attention to the relation between spontaneous subcultural practices and orchestrated mass-cultural outlets that very often construct the sphere of popular cultural needs. It is argued that the modalities of re-constructing and re-directing the narrative as an ethical (ethnic and political) issue remain an important topic not only for a better understanding of popular culture’s hegemonic order but also for the modalities of survival of the narrative as a literary autonomous field.

Теория за медиаморфозите

Author(s): Vladimir Michailov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2004

Theory of Mediamorphosen by Alfred Smudits looks at the revolutionary changes in the relationship between art, cultural creativity and society caused by the subsequently emerging mass media. On the basis of this theory the author traces in an academic manner some of the conflict points of the relationship culture - mass media in order to better evaluate the achievements of Smudits’ theory in media science.

Неизбежността на фатума. Присъствие/отсъствие на филми с мултилинеарна наративна структура в българското и световното кино

Author(s): Zlatina Fenerdjieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2004

Is man capable of choosing his own direction of his fate? Since ancient times a number of philosophical and religious doctrines present controversial answers to this question. Today the newest forms and experiments in narrative art direct us at this problem. This is a result of the recent discoveries in technologies necessary for their creation. The digital revolution makes possible the materialization of the multi-linear dramaturgic model that allows the viewer/interactor to choose his own direction through the versatile narrative structure. Some of the masterpieces of world cinema have been created on that principle. Regretfully, in Bulgarian cinema such works of art are almost missing.

Постмодерната кинореалност

Author(s): Maya Dimitrova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2004

The end of the century offers new visions of film reality. Both modern and postmodern structures exist on the global screen. Special attention is devoted to the problems of the audience – how is the global audience structured in this new reality, what are the relationship between author, audience, film market in the new global market. Defined are such terms as mass audience, distribution, etc. Some of the most recent world tendencies in film production are examined but attention is devoted also to the problems of the Bulgarian film production and film market.

Тематични интереси в полето на постмодерния филм

Author(s): Ekaterina Limoncheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2004

Praised or ignored postmodernism is a fact in cinema. The original contribution of postmodern film aesthetics is basic regarding form and structural know-how but one cannot deny the underlined, repeated interest of postmodern works for specific stories and problems. Among those one can outline such themes as manipulation, the power of mass media, alienation, our hectic life, the motives of the perfect race or the end of the world. Postmodern cinema shows a pronounced interest for them. And in spite of the fact that they cannot be classified as postmodern, they certainly are subjected to a determined postmodern interpretation in the cinema at the end of the 20th century.

Божидар Манов. Дигиталната аудиовизия

Author(s): Ingeborg Bratoeva-Daraktchieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2004

Platform Based Movie Culture during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Streaming Wars and the International Film Industry

Author(s): Zoltán János Tóth / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2023

The premise of this study is based on the fact that the film industry is constantly changing due to media convergence. As a result, new platforms emerge because of substantially altered consumer behaviours. In this sense, this paper conducts a marketing- and distribution-focused examination of the film industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the major topics investigated is how lockdown and social distancing have impacted the premier-based distribution system and how new streaming services have come to dominate the international market. The study pays particular attention to new business models and the role of movie theatres in consumer entertainment in the post-pandemic era.