Film screening – DZIFT Director: Javor Gardev

Dzift
Bulgaria, 2008, 92 min.

A film noir

“Zift” is a genre mixture of neo-noir and sots-art. The story unfolds in one night. The main character, Moth is freed on parole after spending time in prison on wrongful conviction of murder. He was thrown in jail shortly before the Bulgarian communist coup of 1944, and now finds himself in a new and alien world – the totalitarian Sofia of the 60s.
All hell breaks loose as soon as he walks out of jail. Moth tricks the bloodhounds of the communist state. His first night of freedom the main character spends in a breathtaking chase with time, trying to avoid fate, as he gets closer and closer to his ultimate demise.
His frantic flight draws the map of a diabolical totalitarian city – decaying neighborhoods and gloomy streets, the bathhouse, the city canal, the hospital, the cathedral, the pompous works of communist architecture centered around the Mausoleum, smoky joints, bars, and finally — the graveyard.
In the pursuit of truth, Moth runs into a bizarre parade of characters – agents, medics, barflies, outcasts, gravediggers and other species of the asphalt jungle. The action thickens through avalanching variety of twists and turns, sudden revelations, flashbacks, lies laid bare, hallucinations, and sensual encounters with the former love. Finally, the story ends inside the gravediggers’ trailer where the secrets are revealed.

Starring:

Zachary Baharov
Tanya Ilieva
Vladimir Penev
Mihail Mutafov
Djoko Rossich

Director: Javor Gardev

Screenplay: Vladislav Todorov

Cinematography: Emil Christov

Music: Kalin Nikolov

Producers: Georgi Dimitrov, Iliyan Djevelekov, Matey Konstantinov, Stefan Goranov

Based on the novel “Dzift” by Vladislav Todorov