The international premiere of "January" - the debut feature film of the documentary filmmaker Andrei Paunov, was in the program "Rebels with a Cause" at the International Film Festival "Black Nights" in Tallinn at the end of 2021. The co-production of Bulgaria, Portugal and Luxembourg, received the award for best Bulgarian project in the development of Sofia Meetings 2017, participated in the program of the Bulgarian feature film festival "Golden Rose" 2021, where it was awarded a special jury prize and the award of Guild "Criticism" at UBFM.
Andrei Paunov is a director and screenwriter known to film professionals and documentary film fans around the world for his trilogy on the absurdity of the "transition", which includes the films "George and the Butterflies" (winner of the "Silver Wolf" from Amsterdam IDFA 2004). "The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories" (premiered in Critics' Week at the 46th Cannes Film Festival 2007) and "The Boy Who Was King" (first shown in Toronto 2011). With his poetic story "Walking on Water", dedicated to the legendary master of art installations Christo and his floating piers, premiered in Locarno in 2018, the 23rd SFF was opened in March 2019. Andrei Paunov made his feature film debut with "January", inspired by the play of the same name by Yordan Radichkov.
The screenplay for "January" is the work of Alex Barrett and the director of the film, Vashko Viana is DOP, the music is by Ivo Paunov, who worked with Andrei on some of his documentaries. Under the skilful direction of Paunov, the great actors Samuel Finci, Yosif Sarchadjiev, Zahari Baharov, Leonid Yovchev and Malin Krastev join in telling a story full of mystery. In the middle of nowhere, torn from the world by a snowstorm, two men try to figure out what happened to Petar Motorov, who decided to set off in the early morning with his sleigh to the city, beyond the forest. When the sleigh returns, Petar Motorov is not in it - there is only a fur coat, a rifle, a frozen corpse of a big wolf and a huge mystery…
"Andrei wanted to make a film inspired by the play of the same name by Yordan Radichkov, still as a student, and finally in 2015 Radichkov's heirs trusted him and" Orange", ceded the rights and then began work on the script. Andrew had an actor in his head for each of the roles, and each of them agreed to this crazy adventure proposal. Yoso and Sancho were part of the film long before the filming began and their roles were written for them," said producer Vanya Raynova.
The producer is "Orange" Ltd., behind which are Vanya Raynova and Svetoslav Stoyanov. They entered the world of cinema in 2013, with two successful debuts, as producer of Pavel Vesnakov's "Honor" (Grand Prix, Clemront-Ferrand, EFA Nomination for Best European Short) and co-authors of the documentary "The Last Black Sea Pirates".
"January" was developed at Torino Film Lab, First Cut Lab, EAVE and presented as a project of Cinemart Rotterdam, Sofia Meetings, Independent, Venice Gap Financing Market, Crossroads Coproduction Forum Works in Progress. The film was co-produced with Teratrem (Portugal), Tarantula (Luxembourg) and BNT, with the support of the National Film Center, the Portuguese Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts, Cineworld Luxembourg Film Fund, Creative Europe MEDIA Program, New Boya .
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Andrei Paunov is a director and screenwriter known to film professionals and documentary film fans around the world for his trilogy on the absurdity of the "transition", which includes the films "George and the Butterflies" (winner of the "Silver Wolf" from Amsterdam IDFA 2004). "The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories" (premiered in Critics' Week at the 46th Cannes Film Festival 2007) and "The Boy Who Was King" (first shown in Toronto 2011). With his poetic story "Walking on Water", dedicated to the legendary master of art installations Christo and his floating piers, premiered in Locarno in 2018, the 23rd SFF was opened in March 2019. Andrei Paunov made his feature film debut with "January", inspired by the play of the same name by Yordan Radichkov.
The screenplay for "January" is the work of Alex Barrett and the director of the film, Vashko Viana is DOP, the music is by Ivo Paunov, who worked with Andrei on some of his documentaries. Under the skilful direction of Paunov, the great actors Samuel Finci, Yosif Sarchadjiev, Zahari Baharov, Leonid Yovchev and Malin Krastev join in telling a story full of mystery. In the middle of nowhere, torn from the world by a snowstorm, two men try to figure out what happened to Petar Motorov, who decided to set off in the early morning with his sleigh to the city, beyond the forest. When the sleigh returns, Petar Motorov is not in it - there is only a fur coat, a rifle, a frozen corpse of a big wolf and a huge mystery…
"Andrei wanted to make a film inspired by the play of the same name by Yordan Radichkov, still as a student, and finally in 2015 Radichkov's heirs trusted him and" Orange", ceded the rights and then began work on the script. Andrew had an actor in his head for each of the roles, and each of them agreed to this crazy adventure proposal. Yoso and Sancho were part of the film long before the filming began and their roles were written for them," said producer Vanya Raynova.
The producer is "Orange" Ltd., behind which are Vanya Raynova and Svetoslav Stoyanov. They entered the world of cinema in 2013, with two successful debuts, as producer of Pavel Vesnakov's "Honor" (Grand Prix, Clemront-Ferrand, EFA Nomination for Best European Short) and co-authors of the documentary "The Last Black Sea Pirates".
"January" was developed at Torino Film Lab, First Cut Lab, EAVE and presented as a project of Cinemart Rotterdam, Sofia Meetings, Independent, Venice Gap Financing Market, Crossroads Coproduction Forum Works in Progress. The film was co-produced with Teratrem (Portugal), Tarantula (Luxembourg) and BNT, with the support of the National Film Center, the Portuguese Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts, Cineworld Luxembourg Film Fund, Creative Europe MEDIA Program, New Boya .
WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU at #THECINEMA!
#26SofiaIFF