POSOKI / DIRECTIONS

At a meeting with his banker, a small business owner, who drives a cab to make ends meet, discovers the bribe he will have to pay to get a loan has doubled. The ethics board that reviewed his complaint about extortion now wants its share of the action. At his wit’s end, he shoots the banker and then himself. The incident sparks national debate on talk radio about how despair has taken over civil society. Meanwhile, six taxi drivers and their passengers move through the night, each in hope of finding a brighter way forward.

Stephan Komandarev is a Bulgarian director, producer and scriptwriter. He was born in 1966 in Sofia and graduated in Film & TV directing at the New Bulgarian University. Stephan Komandarev's latest feature film Directions is a nominee in the section "Un certain regard" at the Cannes Film Festival 2017 official selection. His previous works include award-winning feature and documentary films, such as: The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner (the first Bulgarian film, shortlisted for Academy Award), the most world-wide theatrical released Bulgarian film ever, distributed in 93 countries, won 35 awards at international film festivals); The Judgment won 12 awards, Bulgarian entry - Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

An X-ray of present-day Bulgaria, the film uses several interconnected subplots to delve deep into the country’s psyche, exploring an array of traumas, idiosyncrasies and paradoxes.

Stefan Dobroiu, Cineuropa