Made in EU

  • Stephan Komandarev
  • Bulgaria
  • Germany
  • Czech Republic
2025
102'

Middle-aged widow Iva works in a clothing factory in rural Bulgaria and has for some time been struggling with an inexplicable but persistent cough. When it is revealed that she is the first confirmed case of COVID in the town, she will face a wave of accusations and prejudice of the entire community. Made in EU, by Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev (Blaga’s Lessons, Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary 2023), is an uncompromising portrayal of exploited labour in the European Union, in which the pandemic becomes a mirror of other ailments of contemporary society: ignorance, internet rumours, irresponsibility of the media, and the relentlessness of the capitalist system.

Language: BG
Subtitles: HR, EN

Stephan Komandarev
Stephan Komandarev

Stephan Komandarev (Sofia, 1966) graduated in medicine in 1993, before going on to study film and television directing at the New Bulgarian University, graduating in 1999. His unique journey from medicine to film has profoundly shaped his humanistic and socially engaged approach to storytelling. Three of his films have been Bulgaria’s submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature, while his multi-award-winning The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner (2008) is the most widely distributed Bulgarian film of all time, screened in as many as 93 countries. Ge completed the EAVE program in 2011, and is a member of the European Film Academy.

Film information

Director: Stephan Komandarev

Screenplay: Simeon Ventsislavov, Stephan Komandarev

Cast: Gergana Pletnyova, Todor Kotsev, Gerasim Georgiev, Anastasia Ingilizova, Ivaylo Hristov, Ivan Barnev, Martina Peneva, Ovanes Torosian

Director of photography: Vesselin Hristov

Editing: Nina Altaparmakova

Producer: Stephan Komandarev, Katya Trichkova, Eike Goreczka, Christoph Kukula, Pavel Strnad, Simon Ofenloch, Bekir Yusuf Açiksöz, Önder Furkan Besli, Anna Maria Aslanoğlu, Zeynep Ekmekci

Production: Argo Film, 42film, Negativ, ZDF/Arte, TRT Sinema, Ikinciyeni film, Istos Film, Contrast films

Festivals and awards: Venice International Film Festival 2025; Golden Rose Film Festival 2025 – Youth Jury Award and Golden Rose Award; Hamburg Film Festival 2025; Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2025; Göteborg Film Festival 2026; Sarajevo Film Festival 2026; Zagreb Film Festival 2026.

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