Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov Probe Corruption and Pro-Russia Nostalgia in ‘Black Money for White Nights’
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- Grozeva and Valchanov return to Karlovy Vary competition with "Black Money for White Nights," following their 2019 Crystal Globe win for "The Father," which represented Bulgaria in the foreign-language Oscar race.
- The film centers on Marina, a nurse, and Gosha, a railway agent in their late 60s who spent years collecting small bribes to fund a dream trip to Russia for the White Nights — until their travel agent vanishes with their money and Russia invades Ukraine.
- Grozeva said the story examines people whose emotional loyalty to Russia distorts their moral compass: "even when reality changed dramatically in 2022, these people kept protecting the story they've chosen to believe after the propaganda."
- The film indicts Bulgarian institutions including healthcare, public transportation, police, government, the church, and family — with Grozeva calling it "our reality," noting characters are built as "contradictory, vulnerable, capable of tenderness and love, and at the same time capable of lies, deception, manipulations."
- Marina reaches an epiphany and refuses further bribes — what Grozeva called a "tragic happy ending" designed to give the couple space to start again, with the actors continuing after the credits roll so the film "continues in the minds of the audience."
- Valchanov and cinematographer Alexander Stanishev shot in real locations using documentary techniques, combining long takes with rapid editing rhythms tied to the characters' emotions.
- Abraxas Film produces in co-production with Graal Films, Bulgarian National Television, Hellenic Broadcasting Corp. (ERT), and the Greek Film Center, with support from the Bulgarian National Film Center and Eurimages; Cercamon handles international sales.
Why it matters: For a duo already validated by a 2019 Crystal Globe and an Oscar submission, returning to Karlovy Vary with a film using Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine as the hinge that exposes small-bribe culture and Soviet-era nostalgia positions them as both artistic and civic commentators — Valchanov himself noted Bulgaria is "now part of Europe" and that "nightmare times…will not be repeated again."
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