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PRODUCTION Bulgaria / Germany / Romania

Communist architectural giants to be explored in Palace for the People

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- The documentary will be released in two formats for TV and one for movie theatres

Communist architectural giants to be explored in Palace for the People
Palace for the People by Boris Missirkov and Georgi Bogdanov

Bulgarian directors Boris Missirkov and Georgi Bogdanov are in late post-production with the theatrical format of their documentary Palace for the People [+see also:
film review
trailer
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]
, which explores the past and present of five of the most emblematic buildings of socialist times. The documentary is being produced by Agitprop (Bulgaria), represented by producer Martichka Bozhilova, and co-produced by Filmtank (Germany) and Icon Production (Romania).

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The National Palace of Culture in Sofia, the Moscow State University, the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade and the Palace of the Republic in Berlin are the stars of the documentary, which explores how they look and how they are used today. The buildings are also shown through the eyes of those related to them: their architects, former and current directors, or simply ordinary people who worked in them.

Bozhilova tells Cineuropa that the €500,000 production will be released in two TV formats: one will be 52 minutes long, while the other will comprise four episodes of 26 minutes each. The theatrical version of the documentary will have a duration of 90 minutes.

In a joint answer, the two directors say that the documentary’s scope is larger than the architectural characteristics of the palaces. “The life of these buildings today is a very clear reflection of the way each country is coping with its socialist heritage. Some keep everything as it is, some got rid of their palace, and others are looking for practical ways to make it functional again. It is these variations in national mentality that were most interesting for us.”

Palace for the People is being represented internationally by Wide House.

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