Letter to America
Released 2001
Synopsis
Young intellectual Ivan from Sofia discovers that his best friend Kamen is fighting for his life in an American hospital. On the other side of the world, “in a God-forsaken land called Bulgaria” – as legend has it – people are said to know songs which could avert death itself. Ivan decides to try and find them. He sets off into the mountains, a world of disappearing villages and remote shepherds’ huts, to seek out the old women who might still remember these ritual songs.
His journey, offering an intoxicating vision of the beauty of the untouched landscape, uncovers the wisdom of folk customs as he records on video the genuine dignity of life. He writes a letter to Kamen, reminding his friend of his home which even he has now seen in its unimagined, archetypal image. It is also an answer to Kamen’s video-reports in which he gives his own impressions of bustling cosmopolitan New York life where he has found an emotional anchor in his friendship with a Japanese man.
- Director/writer: Iglika Triffonova
- Cast: Phillip Avramov, Ana Papadopulu, Peter Antonov, Andy Barret, Joreta Nikolova, Krassimir Dokov, Maya Novoselska
- Production companies: Phanta Vision Film International BV, Budapest Filmstúdió, Klas Film
- Sales agent: Celluloid Dreams
- Distributor: Association of Czech Film Clubs (ACFK), Filmmuseum Distributie
Awards:
Mata D’or Prijs for Best Film, Noordelijk FF 2003; National Bulgarian FF The Golden Rose; Special Juryprize, Critic’s Award, Audience Award, Journalist Prize, Prize for Best Music, Best young actress; Bulgarian nomination Academy Awards 2002; Special Jury Prize, Istanbul 2002; Silver Vitiaz Prize, The Golden Vitiaz IFF, Tambov 2001; Fipresci Prize & Don Quijote Prize International Federation of Cine Clubs (FICC) Kiev Molodist 2001; Bulgarian Television Award, The grand prix “The Golden Chest”
Festivals (selection):
Montreal Festival des Films du Monde 2001, competition; Pusan 2001, World Cinema Section; Thessaloniki 2001, Greece, Balkan Survey Section; Rennes, France 2002, competition; Washington IFF 2002; Karlovy Vary IFF, East of the West program; Sao Paolo IFF 2002, Brazil; Bordeaux IFF 2002, program “Outstanding film not yet screened in France”; IFF Ghent 2002, Belgium; selected for 8 international debuts by KODAK Market Screenings London Film Week, October 2002; Montepelier IFF 2002, France