Small-Town Xenophobia Meets Absurdist Humor in FEAR, Bulgaria’s Official Oscar Submission, Premiering via Virtual Cinema, VOD & Digital on 3/11

SYNOPSIS

Svetla (Svetlana Yancheva), a strong-willed widow, lives alone in a small Bulgarian village close to the Turkish border. She has recently lost her job as a teacher due to the lack of families with young children. One day, while hunting in a forest, she encounters an African refugee, Bamba(Michael Fleming), who is trying to reach Germany, and will bring about a dramatic turn in her life. Reluctantly, she offers him hospitality, but day after day, a bond develops as Bamba learns the language and takes part in her daily life. Svetla will make life-changing choices that go against her traditional community creating a revolt among the villagers. Absurd, comic and tragic situations ensue as she breaks barriers of loneliness, close mindedness and fear of the outsider.

Winner of the Best Film award in Tallinn, and the Golden Rose for Best Picture at Varna’s Golden Rose Bulgarian Feature Film Festival and nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at Santa Barbara International Film Festival, this black & white drama – director Ivaylo Hristov’s fourth film following 2015’s endearing Losers – is a tense and timely fable brought home with visual panache.