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December 2, 2018, (Sunday), 5pm
Qualcomm Q Auditorium
6455 Lusk Blvd, San Diego, CA 92121
(recommended $10 donation goes entirely to support "Vasil Levski" foundation and Bulgarian culture in San Diego)
Please join us for a special Bulgarian movie night with the artist Neno Belchev, who will personally present his work and the film „My heart is an octopus or my father on the shore of the Black Sea“. After the screening we will have a short Q&A session with the author.
"My heart is an octopus or my father on the shore of the Black Sea"
(link to Neno Belchev's web site)
The story runs mainly in a hypothetical Balkan country where the communist regime has collapsed at the end of the 80's, but after a few decades it has “reincarnated” itself with a contra-revolution. So, more or less, the movie is about the post-communist mentality, despite the fact that the main characters travel a lot around the globe. "My Heart Is an Octopus or My Father on the Shore of Black Sea" explores the problems of the lost-in-the-transition generation through the eyes of one of its representatives, but it also touches problems common to all mankind. The main character (a middle-aged man) is an immigrant, who comes from a hypothetical Balkan country, where he has returned illegally to make a documentary about his father (known but forgotten artist from the recent past). He has returned illegally because in his youth he had been involved in a bank robbery. All his life, the son has passionately defended his own artistic and creative position, but he has not reached the popularity and success of his parent, and, at the same time, he has failed to find his place in society and to cope with the chaos in his personal life. His voice (behind the characters, voiceover) leads the narrative as a series of comments over the memories of his father by means of which he unobtrusively sets out his understanding of life, art, and death. At the same time, he also presents a personal reading of history from the end of the 20th and early 21st century. Likewise, delicately, but slightly ironically, the story juxtaposes the life of the father with his son's life and presents their relationships, acquainting us with them through the prism of different cultures and temporal contexts.
The film has innovative and interesting creative approach, combining it with a thorough analysis of the past few decades of the life in post-soviet societies. Such analysis made in the light of art is necessary and useful not only for the public discourse in my country, but could be helpful for all societies around the globe and I hope to be interesting for any kind of audience.
The film has been presented at more than 20 festivals around the globe and won a number of awards.
There are English subtitles.
Dear parents, friends, and supporters of the Bulgarian cultural and educational foundation "Vasil Levski", 
