The director Milko Lazarov is working on his third feature, The Herd, backed by Red Carpet, a Bulgarian production company, with 42film and Amour Fou Luxembourg as co-producers.
Lazarov’s screenplay, co-written with Ekaterina Churilova and Simeon Ventsislavov, is about a family – Ali, his daughter Tariqa and her grandmother Chrysula – sharinga hut on the outskirts of a remote Bulgarian village. Tariqa suffers from a rare bone malformation called “butterfly wings”, an abnormality passed down through the maternal line. The family has lived in the hut for some time and hasa peaceful, harmonious relationship with their neighbours, although they have always been considered odd. But one day Tariqa’s disease seems to spread; village animals start to die mysteriously, then Nikola, a sickly young boy, also dies – having just made friends with Tariqa. The xenophobic, superstitious villagers become more and more suspicious and decide to take care of this family themselves.
In an interview with Cineuropa, producer Veselka Kiryakova explains the difficulties they had making the film, shooting on 35mm with a 31-day schedule. Several locations up in the hills were inaccessible by car, all the equipment had to be carried up by the crew. The principal locations were the villages of Karlukovo and Kamenno (in the northwest of Bulgaria) and around the city of Lukovit.
Milko Lazarov graduated from Sofia’s National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts. Producer, project director and lecturer, he made his first feature, Alienation, in 2013, winning the Best Bulgarian Film Award at the Sofia International Film Festival, the Europa Cinemas’ Special Mention and the Venice Days’ Best Young Director Award. The Bulgarian Film Academy also awarded him Best Film, Best Director and Best Editing. His second film, Ága, was released in France in November 2018.
Sources: Cineuropa, 42 film, Festival de La Rochelle
