Cinema for me is…

Georgi in 10 frames

1. What film made you fall in love with cinema?
lt feels embarrassing to say, but when I saw lnception (Christopher Nolan, 2010) in the theatre back in 201O, it was honestly the first time I truly fell in Iove with a film. The intricate story, the visuals, the action, the score, all felt like nothing I had ever seen or even imagined before. Despite my general dislike of Nolan and his films now, I still consider lnception as a great action flick.

3. What does Europe mean to you?
Perhaps most of these qualities are more closely associated with the European Union, but for me, Europe is all about free travel and community between different nations and cultures.

4. What do you like the most about your country that makes it unique?
Aside from being at the bottom of most qualitative socio-economic statistics in the EU, Bulgaria has some of the best natural landscapes l’ve seen anywhere. lt has beautiful mountain sights, beautiful beaches and everything in between. And despite the general population being mostly conservative and bigoted, my family and most of my loved ones are here, so I consider the people to be special as well.

5. Your favorite film theatre? What do you like about it?
The Curzon in Bloomsbury, London stands out in my mind mostly due to sentimental reasons. During my year and a half of life in the UK, I lived right next to the theatre and often found refuge in it during difficult times. I saw films that would never be available in theatres in my home country, as well as older classics. Also, their yearly student membership was a really good deal.

6. What is your dream job in the film industry?
Like many people, being a director is the dream, but honestly I feel I would be satisfied working at different positions as long as I work on projects I care about.

7. Which film director would you like to be?
I cannot vouch for their personal life, but in terms of filmography, style and general approach to filmmaking, Martin Scorsese would be my choice.

8. Which film character do you most identify with?
lt might be cheating since the character is from a TV show, but there’s no other answer than A.J. Soprano from The Sopranos. This is rather awkward considering A.J. is a generally dislikable character that carries many traits from his murdering gangster father, but the character is written with such a deep understanding of the familial situation that makes him the person that he is. His insecurities struggle with self-worth and oftentimes self-deprecation ring very true to me.

9. Your favorite soundtrack or song?
As most “favourite” questions, the answer varies depending on time, mood, the weather, etc. That being said, ever since I saw the film in 2018, Oneohtrix Point Never’s score for Good Time (Benny and Josh Safdie, 2017) has remained a constant in my life.

10. If you had to live in a movie, which one would you like it to be?
Chunking Express (Wong Kar­ Wai, 1994). The hazy atmosphere, the beautiful foreign scenery, the music, all of it feels like a dream.

Georgi Georgiev is the Ambassador of Dom na Kinoto (Sofia). Find out more about the cinema here.