CINEMA: Screening of the Bulgarian film “Kaval Park”

19.10.2023; 7:00 PM; “Sofia” Gallery

Book your seat HERE

The Bulgarian Cultural Institute London has the pleasure of inviting you to the Premier screening of the Bulgarian film “Kaval Park” in London.

Special guest: the Director Bogdan Darev

Q&A session with the Director Bogdan Darev will take place after the screening

“Kaval Park”:

“Kaval Park” is Bulgarian-American film production. Filming started in 2016 in Seattle and continued for 3 years, including the filming of scenes in Plovdiv, Kameno, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Chicago.

“Kaval Park” is as much a documentary as it is an art film. The director’s goal was to film and edit the film as a poem, a letter, a symphony of personages and feelings, music notes from the past, present and future. Moments captured from the rich and colorful life of maestro Alexander Eppler. His irresistible love for music, culture, and people awakens profound reverence and before we know it, we have fallen in love with him and his story.

“My mother is ill and cannot move. If it was not for that misfortune, I would have stayed here forever. As a matter of fact, I got so used to the people in Plovdiv that I think I would not leave.” /a quote from the newspaper “Komsomolska iskra”, March 1973/

About the Director:

Bogdan Darev was born in Bulgaria. In 1995, at age 17, he immigrated to the US with his younger sister. He began to work in the fast food industry, eventually saving enough money to attend and graduate from acting and film schools.

In 2008 Mr. Darev produced and directed his first short film “Listen” which started his film career.

In the spring of 2014 Mr. Darev premiered “This Baba” – his first documentary short film. The movie tells the story of the ordinary life of one extraordinary Bulgarian grandmother living in Seattle. It was received very enthusiastically by immigrant communities. In 2018, after 23 years without a green card in the US, Bogdan Darev finally returned to his home country Bulgaria. The director inked this moment in his full length documentary debut “There” and went on a North American tour with the film. In 2022 he released “Kaval Park” his second full length documentary which filmed over three years and took six years in total to complete. The film tells the story of maestro Alexander Eppler, an American of Russian descent, who at age 14 sneaks into communist Bulgaria to study music. To date the film has had 45 showings in North America and Europe.

2023 marks the release of “harmonia:” – Mr. Darev’s semi-autobiographical narrative short film. The director is currently in production for his third full length documentary “Spoke – the incredible story of fire captain Rudy.” When away from the film set, Bogdan works on completing his debut novel “Upside Down Robinson.”