On the 25th of April, 11am, the documentary titled “Life is Scary, and Yet Very Beautiful” will be shown at the Sofia Opera and Ballet
Life is Scary, and Yet Very Beautiful
The film is dedicated to a self-sacrificial love which makes even a scary life beautiful: a love which has overcome prejudices and dogmas, political cataclysms and personal intrigues, a physical separation and professional ambitions. This is the story of Penka Kasabova: the woman in shadow who created the world-famous opera star Boris Hristov.
Several years ago, we met one of Penka Kasabova’s heirs who was thrilled to tell us this story. We were impressed by the character of this woman: unusual, regarding Bulgarian criteria; by her different approach to the iconic cultural phenomenon that is Boris Hristov; by the opportunity to combine an emotional love story and the obstacles in the way of this love with a social commentary spanning a long period of time. Through Penka’s memories and Boris’ letters, we can see almost an entire century of historical events in Bulgaria and Europe and how they have shaped the fate of one woman. As the drama unfolds, we witness an almost chess-like trading of pieces and the leitmotif is that of self-sacrifice and the sacrifices made along the road to fame.
Our intention is for this film to break the mold of the “intimate personal love story” genre and to pose the question of the price we have to pay in order to defend our love and ourselves in hard historic times; of the woman’s place in Bulgarian society and its development in time; of the treatment towards the artist; of the different thinking people in different social relationships; of love, self-sacrifice and the power to overcome one’s ego; of payback and undeserved obscurity.
Three wonderful actresses star in this film: Milena Ermenkova, Elena Hrant and Vera Srebrova: they recreate Penka Kasabova’s character with a different accent. Through them, we uncover the heroine’s psychological drama, the birth and development of passion, passion’s intertwining with friendship and the feeling of duty, sinking into more established, deeply hidden emotions. In this dramatic tale, the multilayered personal story becomes part of the wild 20th century. As if unnoticeably, important problems of the time are revealed: fascism, anti-Semite laws, war, women’s emancipation, the birth of communism and the new socialist state’s ruling methods…
Penka’s frail yet unbreakable spirit shines through all these cataclysms because for her, Love (for her only man as well as for her profession) is the only thing of importance which must be preserved in this hostile, scary life.
Ivail Simeonov’s role as Boris Hristov is much more moderate in terms of visual performance; Hristov reveals himself through his own original letters to Penka. Here, we’re trying to show the famous bass’ other face: a different, not so well-known Boris Hristov; not as willful, prone to sacrificing his own career in favor of small life pleasures. However, he is a kind and loving friend, sensitive and witty, funny and emotional. A man who, under the influence of his beloved wife manages to change and become ambitious in order to turn into the man who Penka saw in him early on and managed to pull out from the core of his being.
Exactly this is the most intriguing thing in the two protagonists’ characters: Penka remains largely unchanged from the beginning to the end, as if her character was forged in her early years and is unsusceptible to any provocations; meanwhile, Boris (the man we see him as in memories) undergoes a huge metamorphosis. The comparison between the two of them, the way they influence each other, the obstacles in their relationships, the at times absurd coincidences that stand between them are a prerequisite for building a thrilling dramaturgical story development.
We are sure that many of you who are more so or less acquainted with Penka and Boris’ relationship will state that only their point of view is the correct one. However, we believe that this film’s greatest upside is precisely the unexpected and different angles from which we see the story.
The authors’ ambition is not to just make a biography but a deeply emotional film so that every single viewer can find his own story in it.
Director and scriptwriter: Ralitsa Dimitrova
Cameraman: Plamen Gerasimov
Score: David Kokonchev
Artist: Nadezhda Ilieva
Costume designer: Neli Pekareva
Sound: Alexandar Simeonov, Mariana Valkanova, Georgi Valchev
Executive producer: Maya Drazheva
Starring: Milena Ermenkova, Elena Hrant, Ivail Simeonov, Vera Srebrova
Producer: Plamen Gerasimov
Production: B Plus Film
Coproducers: SONUS and THE SOFIA OPERA AND BALLET
With the support of the IA “National film center”, DA “Archives”, the “St. Kliment Ohridski” National library, the Bulgarian National Television, PKSHP “St. Alexander Nevsky”, DLS “Krichim”, the Sofia City art gallery etc.
Entry is free!
