Quotes

My work as an actor and a professor of acting helps me in my work with the actors. Being a director helps me in my work as a screenwriter, and being a screenwriter helps me in my work as an actor, professor and director. But above all, what I enjoy most is telling stories. No matter whether I'm in the Academy hall, on stage, in front of or behind the camera, telling stories is a great occupation. Imagine what mankind would be if there were no stories!

I'm not sure how it is in other countries, but in Bulgaria youngsters face extreme difficulties in their creative development. There are very few places where they have the opportunity to realize their creative potential and find professional fulfillment. Theatres are facing financial difficulties, there are far from enough film productions, and the TV channels offer nothing sensible apart from commercials and low-quality soap operas. So my goal was to write a script that would give the young actors a chance to show off their abilities in front of the camera. May this film give them a chance! If not, at least we have a picture to keep as a memory.

There are always some important, subtle nuances lost in translation, no matter how perfect that translation may be. In Bulgarian, the word karatsi doesn't have a negative connotation. It implies irony, empathy and even concern for the person we call karak ("loser"). There is also sadness and a wry smile involved there. It is true that one of the characters says that all Bulgarians are losers, but the other one adds that there are losers in other countries as well. This refers to all of the smart, sensitive, talented people who cannot adapt and who are rejected by the system.