As a director and a screenwriter, Antonia Milcheva is hard-set on her affinity for short films. Her work has received a prize at Sarajevo IFF, the Jameson Award at Sofia Film Festival, and now, a Golden Rose Award by the eponymous Bulgarian festival. In general, short films aren’t exactly highly esteemed in Bulgaria. And yet, there are often great finds among them.

Milcheva earned respect with her movie “Krilo na drakon” (“A Dragon’s Wing”). In it, she exhibited a deep and nuanced interest in people with high standards for the world and their close ones. She seems drawn to people who are sophisticated and sensitive enough to fight for what belongs to them. Her new piece, “Happy New Year” (Praznik, literally Celebration in Bulgarian), targets the ritual events of life that provoke some characters’ sharp tongues while making others bite theirs.

The director digs deep into the lies and hypocrisy that surround every family and every celebration. She chooses characters who are conscientious and sensitive, who can immerse themselves in the moment so deeply that they’re able to reconsider their priorities as well as their standards. The main character in “Happy New Year” is a delicate and reliable woman who abides by her own principles, but she’s constantly under attack from life’s circumstances and the instigations of other people. Still, friends and foes could swap their places, and Milcheva’s characters are never voiceless; they bite with sharp tongues, too…

The story takes place on New Year’s Eve. Lina, a young, thick-haired woman, has bought a pricey gift for a guy who bails on their date over the phone. Two of Lina’s girlfriends, along with their partners, arrive at her rented apartment. One of the men turns out to be Lina’s ex-fling, and their stifled feelings follow us throughout the movie. Everybody’s forced to keep silent because one of the couples has brought their baby to the function. The baby’s been born in a French arrondissement, and the couple seems to be blessed in every aspect. The guests generously criticize, guide, and empathize with the host, whose problems span well beyond her love drama and the need to return the expensive gift. The advice sounds catty and nasty, and the generalizations the guests make for Lina drown out her modest presence. Nevertheless, even in this hostile holiday setting, she manages to defend her beliefs, even though she feels abandoned and humiliated.

Her everyday problems—existential, domestic, or related to family or friends—become an opportunity for everyone to show their true colours. The dialogue aims to draw us to the characters, but sadly, does the exact opposite. At the end of the film, we’re rather bored with what happens on screen. The group gathers around for a Dunavsko horo—in Bulgaria, New Year often begins with this traditional folk dance. The scene is supposed to unite the characters and release tensions, but it seems unconvincing. Collective and individual stereotypes are mixed, and questionable life choices are put on the back burner so that life, people, and their flaws can be celebrated.

Either way, the director has a sense for the dramatic, melancholy, and comic and creates characters that are pure at heart. She doesn’t forgive their shortcomings, but she’s willing to at least give them a voice. Bulgarians recognize the modest interiors and gloomy decorations comprising the film decor.

And yet, if we have to compare them, “A Dragon’s Wing” is Milcheva’s more emotional and authentic movie. Lina’s impending doom in “Happy New Year” leaves a bitter taste with its pettiness. The supporting characters are rather vague. Her attitude towards them gives them character traits, but this alone is not enough to make their image consistent. Even if a director chooses the perfect main character—with their amalgam of hidden feelings and a brave rejection of hypocrisy—to achieve real success and maturity, you need one more step, and to allude to her other movie, one more wing

Материалът е изготвен
с финансовата подкрепа
на Националния фонд „Култура”.