Logline

Released from jail, after an attempt to flee the communist regime in Bulgaria, Borislava prepares her wedding, struggling with the growing distrust within her family.

Synopsis

In the winter of 1983, Borislava has been held in custody for trying to escape communist Bulgaria with her boyfriend Julian. All she has to do is agree to cooperate with the State Security against Julian and they will set her free… Shortly after her release, Borislava is getting married to Julian, who is still in prison. What had to be the happiest day in her life is overshadowed by the distrust that starts tearing up her family.

Director’s Statement

“Reptiles” is the name of the intelligence operation against my family during the totalitarian regime in Bulgaria. My parents tried to escape the country several times in their twenties, for which they were arrested, put in jail and declared “enemies of the State”. They were treated as criminals, because they refused to be convenient to The Party and kept fighting for their freedom. The plot of The Reptiles is inspired by a certain moment of my parents’ State Security case that kept me restless for years – the fact that someone from our close circle has been informing against them and we still do not know who that person is – he or she can be anyone… I cannot help but being overwhelmed with the anxiety and paranoia that have been deteriorating the Eastern European societies during the regime and somehow still do. The Reptiles is a drama, a period piece about betrayal and injustice at one of the most important moment in a woman’s life – the day of her wedding.The visual and sound narrative will reflect the characters’ paranoia about privacy. The mis-en-scene and the camera movement will give a feeling of people being watched from a distance, followedand trapped. With the help of the set design, the costumes, the make-up and the hairstyle, we will recreate the aesthetics of the 80’s, but in a naturalistic way, without making it kitchen-sink. Borislava’s feelings will be in the foreground and the historical conditions in which they develop will remain on the backgroundso that the viewerswill immerse in the atmosphere and experience the excitement, the expectation, the love but also the fear, the anxiety and the great disappointment, along with the characters. We will rely on the influence of young actors in the leading roles, with primary, adolescent, harsh emotions, written on their faces, with expressions that radiate naturalness without “stage make-up”. I make this film to explore the complexity of living in a totalitarian political regime and to understand better the troubles of my family’s past that define my life today – the conditions in which my generation and I are conceived and born. I believe that the themes that underlie The Reptiles are universal and will be able to travel through time and space, freely, living wherever they see fit.