Private Investigation
(documentary, dir. Àntoniy Donchev, 78 min., 2007)
Screening of the film followed by a discussion on the double
standards of communist Bulgaria towards the Arab states: people,
services, fates… With the participation of analists of the
economic and political relations before and after the fall
of Berlin wall.
The discussion is in Bulgarian. Discussants: Momchil Metodiev
(editor-in-chief of “Christianity and Culture” magazine, author
of the book “Legitimacy Machine. The Role of the State Security
in a Communist State), Mohamed Halaf (journalist), Kiriak
Tzonev (arabist) and Ahmed Talib (Head of the Iraqui forum
in Bulgaria).
The film is with English subtitles.
July 1988, Sofia, Bulgaria. The body of a young Iraqi woman
was found in her room in the Student Town. Suham Raadi had
emigrated due to political reasons and studied journalism
in Bulgaria. The murderer has never been identified. Was Suham
a victim of a greater sinister play? Sofia was the centre
of the Iraqi secret services in the 1980s and the Soviet Block
was supporting Saddam Hussein as “the Castro of the Middle
East”. We follow the traces of the crime both in today's Bulgaria
and Iraq.With the participation of researchers of the cooperation,
political and economical during the socialism before and after
the fall of the Berlin Wall and of agents and objects of agents,
as well as some characters of the documentary. We were close
to the protagonists of this story. We studied together with
them for five years and all we knew was thet they were nice
persons. We still think the same. Yet we were very naive at
that time. The communist regime used to keep away all clouds
that could shadow the sunny days and thoughts. Between 60
and 70 thousand foreign students graduated from Bulgarian
universities at the time of the communism. Almost all of them
had arrived within the framework of the ‘international antiimperialist
solidarity‘. Bulgaria was the most loyal alley to Moscow and
had a ‘specialization‘ within the Soviet Block: to work with
the Middle East. This included a vast network of relations
with all kinds of political movements: national-socialist,
communist, terrorist, etc. The traces are still hot. They
lead to the upper most levels of the political players of
that time and are also related directly to present interests.
The old channels still can work. Today US are losing their
positions in the Arab world and Moscow is ready to step forward
again (who can claim which is better?). The life of a single
person in the great play meant nothing at that time. We are
not convinced that today it is of greater importance either.
But we do not want to be naive anymore.
Antoniy Donchev
written and directed: Antoniy Donchev
cunematographer: Ivan Tonev
music and sound by: Blagomir Aleksiev
edited by: Marieta CHukovska
produced by: Blagomir Aleksiev
May 21 (Wednesday) 2008, 7.00 p.m.
Red hall
Tickets: 3/2 BGN
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