On January 1, Valo Radev was born – one of the iconic film directors of Bulgarian cinema, creator of the emblematic films – “Condemned Souls”, “The Peach Thief”, “Tsar and General”, “Adaptation”, “The Longest Night”, ” The Black Angels”, filmed as a cameraman for “Tobacco” directed by Nikola Korabov.
The director Valo Radev (Source: Archive Dir.bg)
Cinematographer, screenwriter and director, whose films gather millions of viewers in cinemas, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York keeps his film “The Peach Thief” in the “Golden Catalogue”.
The 100th anniversary of Valo Radev was celebrated last night, January 9, at the Odeon Film Library Cinema with a special screening of the film version of “Adaptation” in the presence of some of the actors from the film.
The event was also attended by Milena Fuchedjieva, her daughter Radina Valova, granddaughter of Valo Radev, Anya Pencheva and the chairman of the permanent committee for education, culture, science and cultural diversity of the Metropolitan Municipality – Malina Edreva, who announced that same evening that a street in Sofia will bears the name of Valo Radev.
“In the month in which we celebrated the centenary of the birth of the distinguished director, cinematographer and screenwriter, on the initiative of Milena Fuchedjieva, I submit a proposal to name a part of our city in his memory. The initiative is supported by the mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova and Teodor Petkov – mayor of Vitosha district, where the street is located,” Edreva wrote on his official Facebook page.
Eli Skorcheva shared with the audience some details about her decision to accept the role of Veronika, then her debut.
“I struggled to shoot this film for a very long time. For months. Valo Radev has been looking for an actress for the main role for a long time. I didn’t know what the film was about.
When I asked, my colleagues from NATFIZ told me “Ah, some partisan story”. I gave up too. This went on many times until finally one of Valo’s assistants brought the script to my quarters. I had been called for the role of Rositsa, but after reading the script I said to myself that I should play Veronika. I made the samples to look like Veronica. Then he called me for a second and third test. My very first contact with Valo Radev was magic. When you communicate with a person who is your universe, with whom you have the same taste and share the same ideas, it is a celebration. For me, every day with this man was a holiday”
“Adaptation” is a film that certainly transcends the boundaries of time. Seen today, it can be a starting point for both cinema and the quests and problems of young people, regardless of whether they live in socialism or modernity. It is the anxiety, inner pain and attempts to understand yourself that are even more acute today, that’s why Valo Radev, not only in “Adaptation”, but in all his film projects, proves that he is a universal and global director, surpassing his time.
Everyone was excited after the screening at “Odeon”, but I managed to ask Eli Skorcheva and Hristo Totev a few questions.
Eli Skorcheva and Antonii Genov in Valo Radev’s film “Adaptation” (1981) (Source: Dir.bg Archive)
Here’s what actress Eli Skorcheva shared about the shooting of the film and her excitement to watch it again, nearly 40 years after its premiere, especially to Impressio.
– How do you feel after watching the movie again?
– I think we have made a very good product, which strangely for me, sounds quite modern even now. Neither in style, nor in theme, nor in acting, the film is not outdated. The emotional charge is contemporary. The only thing that is not modern is that today people are much more alienated from each other. They are more careless.
– What do you remember from the shooting process?
– I remember every single minute. Now watching it, I could see when the lines were changed, we said one thing, but the dubbing said something else. I can see which episodes were missing. I remember the entire text by heart. I haven’t forgotten anything. I even remember what the air temperature was, how cold we were, how hot we were. I remember everything.
– This is your debut role, were you worried? What was the atmosphere like?
– Not at all. The environment was very friendly, creative and collegial. I have never had any worries – neither from the camera nor from the stage. One cannot help but remember one’s first work, especially with such an artist as Valo Radev.
– What kind of person was he and how did you work with him?
– We were people who had the same taste for cinema. Valo Radev introduces a perfect new style, a new acting behavior that we have unlocked. From there began this wave of rebel cinema. Valo was wonderful to work with. Indeed, this is a great asset to me!
– How would you describe it in a few words?
– Volo was very talented, intelligent, subtle, kind, responsive and with a lot of steel in him! He was able to stand up for himself in a very soft and delicate way.
The cameraman Hristo Totev, who worked with Valo Radev on films such as “Adaptation” and “Condemned Souls”, also stood in front of Impressio to share about his work with Radev.
“Working with Valo was very good. From the beginning, with “Doomed Souls”, we got along well, we worked together so that without talking to each other, things worked out on the screen. I liked the film very much. Valo is a genius director . The great thing about working with him was that he would talk long before the movie started. He would put you in the situation so that when we were on set, we didn’t need to talk. And you see what happens.”
Hristo Totev also shared that his film looks extremely modern and up-to-date, apart from the fact that the characters drink Johnnie Walker whiskey and Coca-Cola.
“The real story is unique. These are two friends who graduate medicine together, two are psychiatrists. One becomes the head of the clinic, the other becomes a doctor. However, he implements this social adaptation group, as you understand, no one approves, because it is American method. They disband the group, and he leaves the clinic, goes to Karlukovo. Meanwhile, psychiatrists hold congresses every two years, and there is such a congress in West Germany. He asks his friend to send him to this congress, he goes and sends a letter “And here people have need me.” From West Germany he went to America and became a famous psychoanalyst. In 1994 he came to Bulgaria and was greeted with great honors. He died in 1996. This is a real case and his name is Dr. Kamenov.”
