Memory Torn by Archives: Bozhina Panayotova's "Red, Too Red" Coming to Screens in Varna

Varna will host one of the most intriguing film screenings of the season. The "ReBonkers" cultural center is preparing the screening of "Red, Too Red" – the debut feature documentary by director Bozhina Panayotova, which has already gained international recognition with its premiere in the "Panorama" section of the Berlin International Film Festival.

The film is not just a chronicle, but a deep and intimate investigation in which the director's personal story intertwines with the grand history of Bulgaria. Panayotova, who spent two decades in France, uses cinema as a tool to unravel the silence left by the socialist past. Through a bold and unusual cinematic language, she combines family archives, phone recordings, and hidden camera footage to explore the boundaries between documentary and fiction.

Emilian Gatsov's musical score adds the necessary tension, transporting the viewer directly into the atmosphere of the 1980s, while the visual language of the "split screen" reflects the digital era in which we live.

The screening on July 20 also carries a strong social charge. In the context of planned legislative changes, which foresee the transfer of the functions of the Commission on Dossiers to the State Agency "Archives," the film becomes a platform for dialogue. Following the screening, a discussion with the author will be held, focusing on themes of public memory, the right to know, and the institutional role in preserving our past.