Fighting For What You Believe In

Slava Doycheva has enough energy to power several people – she is one of our most promising young directors and screenwriters, a the tireless activists for the rights of women and LGBTI + people, and her work addresses these topics in a direct manner that's unusual for Bulgarian cinema. This directness certainly has something to do with the fact that Doycheva is among the few people in our film industry who are openly gay and work to improve the dialogue on these topics through personal example.

She is currently focused on the first public screenings of her new short film Shells starring Stella Stoynova and Ivan Doychev, a synthesized story about the things left unsaid in the relationship between a father and his daughter, which takes place shortly before Easter.

"The film went on the festival circuit in the midst of the pandemic, and because of all the online screenings, I could not really feel the audience's reactions and feedback," says Slava, whose film shows how the seemingly idyllic world of two people can become less well defined when it collides with the outside world. "We get to catch up now."

The film was shown in the online program of Sofia Film Fest at the beginning of the year and when its first public performance took place on May 30 at The Steps, the screening was attended by nationalist groups looking to provoke a fight.

The next screening of Shells will be on June 24 as part of the Meeting Young European Cinema program at the French Institute, along with two other short films by Doycheva – Marriage (starring Martina Apostolova, another activist on human rights issues in Bulgaria) and Lead Heart. The screenings will be accompanied by a discussion.

 Scene from the movie Shells

You were at the Burgas Pride on May 15, and two days later was the International Day against Homo-, Bi- and Transphobia. What was on your mind when you were traveling back to Sofia – joy that the event took place without significant issues, or rather sadness that every place that hosts such an event has to start from scratch?

I came back with very mixed feelings. On the one hand, I admire the courage of the young people from Burgas, who, despite enormous pressure and very real threats, made this event happen and defended their right to exist openly in this city. After it was all over, most of the participants got together and each person shared their story… 

There was a lot of warmth and a sense of togetherness, I remembered that this is the strength and beauty of our community. At the same time, the things I saw, heard and felt during the Pride itself were terrible, even if there were no serious incidents. We were in the middle of the square, locked in a cage and surrounded on all sides, we were literally the perfect targets. I still don't understand how anyone could think that we would risk our lives just to "parade" around. I was there because I want to live a normal life, full-blooded, full-fledged and without cause for fear. And the road ahead is long, especially when we start from scratch. And yes, it is risky, especially in personal terms, but I just do not believe in the Bulgarian maxim about the bowed head.

Does the fact that your films, characters and plots all take place are all based in Bulgaria lead to specific approaches to the LGBTI + topic?

My films reflect what I see around me. And yes, there is a specific kind of “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in Bulgaria, which is a painful topic for me and all my LGBTI + friends. But I don't think it's just us… My observations are that not talking, not sharing and not knowing the people next to you is ubiquitous in all kinds of families.

Scene from the movie Marriage

You played the main character in Marriage – how easy or difficult it is for you to decide if a role you have written should be played by you or another actor?

There are two sides to this. As a director, I try to distance myself and be objective – who is the right person for something, will something be added to the film if I do the role? Or will something be lost? Sometimes I also listen to my instincts as an actress  – do I like this role, am I scared of it. If I'm scared, then I also have something to give to it.

Where do the roles of director and activist intersect and diverge in you? 

This is a very interesting question and I ask myself that a lot. Sometimes there are serious clashes between the two, and sometimes one role completely subsides at the expense of the other.

The main difference is that as an artist I am interested in gray areas. I am interested in the things you can't easily label as right or wrong. I don't write good or bad characters, I'm looking for something elusive. And as an activist, I strive to stand up for what I firmly believe in, for things where I do not allow for any alternatives – such as the right to dignity and equality. And here things are much more straight-forward: should same-sex partnerships be legalized? Yes. That's all.