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A perfect movie for the moment — though it debuted in late 2020, winning the Grand Prize at Tallin Black Nights — “Fear” offers both seriocomic balm and finger-wagging just as another major refugee crisis roils the world. Bulgarian theater and film veteran Ivaylo Hristov’s latest feature brings to mind not just current Ukraine-related events, but wider European and global trends, as it depicts a border backwater rattled when a lonely local widow takes in an African man fleeing war. Selected as last year’s Bulgarian Oscar submission, this warmly ingratiating piece in cool widescreen monochrome is a keeper, reminiscent of bittersweet fish-out-of-water arthouse hits like “The Band’s Visit,” as well as select gems from Soviet-bloc nations’ 1960s new wave.

Flinty middle-aged widow Svetla (Svetlana Yancheva) is introduced closing up the classroom she’ll no longer be teaching in, as the entire school is being closed for lack of students. Indeed, everything...

"You can't fight the state." Film Movement has revealed an official US trailer for a Bulgarian B&W indie dark comedy titled Fear, made by a classic Bulgarian actor turned director named Ivaylo Hristov. This first premiered at the 2020 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival a few years ago, and also played at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. It won the Jury Prize at the Kazan Festival of Muslim Cinema, an Audience Award at the Sofia Film Festival, plus Grand Prize in Tallinn. Svetla, a widow who lost her job recently is living next to the Bulgarian-Turkish border. There are many cases of refugees in her village due to it's location. One day she meets a refugee from Africa and this changes her life. It's a story about love, but also a story about fear. The film stars Svetlana Yancheva, Michael Flemming, Kristina Yaneva, and Ivan Savov. It is also Bulgaria's submission to the 2022 Academy Awards,...

Winner of the Best Film award in Tallinn Black Nights festival as well as Bulgaria’s official Oscar entry, Ivaylo Hristov’s fourth feature Fear is arriving in the U.S. next month courtesy of Film Movement and we’re pleased to debut the exclusive trailer. Mixing absurdity, comedy, and tragedy, the film––which debuts March 11 in Virtual Cinemas and on VOD––explores the fear of the outsider in a small-minded community.

Svetla (Svetlana Yancheva), a strong-willed widow, lives alone in a small Bulgarian village close to the Turkish border. She has recently lost her job as a teacher due to the lack of families with young children. One day, while hunting in a forest, she encounters an African refugee, Bamba (Michael Fleming), who is trying to reach Germany, and will bring about a dramatic turn in her life. Reluctantly, she offers him hospitality, but day after day, a bond...