21
Feb
2017

Stoyanka Mutafova will receive the Sofia Award for her contribution to the acting profession

"Love is a great thing! It's an impulse. I’ve played my best roles when I was in love.” says Mutafova to the media in the month of love, when she was actually born. At the age of 95 "Mrs. Natural Disaster" as they call her affectionately, she is a candidate for the Guinness record for the oldest actively playing actress.

"The Hurricane Stoyana", "The irresistible female phenomenon of Bulgarian cinema", "The fine aristocrat on stage," "A rebel that can behave as a princess, and as a street urchin", "Madcap," "The funniest actress" "School for beginner actresses" or "The diagnosis Mutafova" – she is all of this - one of the most impressive actresses on stage and in film in Bulgaria.

"I would compare the moments of contact with your brilliant talent to the magic that produces this unique electronic musical instrument called the Theremin, on which one plays without even touching it. Natural and emotional, just like this incredible instrument, without even touching the audience physically, you touch their soul, reaching the most gentle strings in their hearts.", says the Minister of Culture- Rashko Mladenov about Mutafova at the celebration of her anniversary which took place in the Theater of Satire.

Several generations remember the ticket queues in front of the temple of laughter, established in 1956 by the legendary actors - Mutafova, Georgi Kaloyanchev, Georgi Partsalev, Tatiana Lolova, and their legendary troupe. In the "happiest years of their lives," giving themselves completely out on stage, every night Mutafova plays unforgettable characters - Dorine in "Tartuffe", Selyamsazkata in "Uncles",  Baba Gitska in "Golemanov", Maria in "Michal the Mouse-Eater", Fyokla Ivanovna in "Marriage",  Korobochka in "Dead Souls," Anna Andreevna in "The Inspector General", and many others. Despite her stately age, Mutafova is unrecognizable as Baba Zyumbula in "Shock Therapy" and Brambarova in "Cosmonauts'. She is truly one of the actresses who can play any character imaginable – possible or impossible!

All her film incarnations in some of the most iconic films are also endlessly intriguing - "Specialist po Vsichko", "Privarzaniat Balon", "Kit," "Ezop", "Toplo" and "Bash Maistorat". She also plays the beloved by generations of children grandmother Tsotsolana in the film version of "Patilansko Tsarstvo". Stoyanka Mutafova plays in "Stakleni Topcheta" (1999) by Ivan Cherkelov, "Rapsodiya v Bqlo" (2002) by Teddy Moskov, "Vakantsiqta na Lili" (2007) by Ivanka Grabcheva, "Vcherashni Tseluvki" (2007) by Yuri Datchev, "Ako Nqkoi te Obicha" (2010) by Kiran Kolarov, and in the tv series "Stolichani v Poveche".


Unusual - as bright as her magnetic acting presence - is the way Mutafova reached the spotlight and the stage. She had to fight a battle with her family, as her father - Konstantin Mutafov, one of the playwrights at the National Theatre "Ivan Vazov", insisted that his daughter, a classical philology graduate, to become an archaeologist, but instead she secretly entered the State Theatre School at the National Theatre. The director of the troupe Vladimir Polyanov received a letter from her father insisting that his daughter should not be accepted. However, Stoyanka partnered with Krastyo Sarafov in a radio play, after which Polyanov met Mutafov to reassure him in her undeniable talent. Since then, the funniest actress brings joy and laughter to generations of Bulgarians who literally grew up with her tireless talent.