School for Hope: filming is renewed
On the 3rd of June 2020 Mono Collective, in co-production with Full Frame Studio and Sonus, returns to Rusalya village near Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria, to continue the filming of the debut film School for Hope by director and screenwriter Yana Alexieva. Cinematographer is Krasimir Andonov, sound designer – Svetlosar Georgiev, and producer – Simeon Tsonchev. The project has a long history: its first shooting day was back in 2019 and filming is scheduled to continue in the next year. The production was interrupted for a few months by the COVID-19 pandemic.
School for Hope depicts the happiness and the struggles of the founders Animari Dimitrova and Zlatko Zlatkov, of the teachers, mentors, pupils and patrons of the School for Arts and Crafts for Socially Disadvantaged Children in Rusalya village, the only such school of its kind in Bulgaria. In this school, supported entirely by donations and sponsors and existing despite all challenges posed by the state, the two founders provide boarding care and education to 26 children between 6 and 14 years old, all of them from extremely poor families.
The production is funded by the Bulgarian National Film Centre. The premiere of School for Hope is expected in 2024.
Good luck to the film’s crew and to the School for Arts and Crafts for the new academic year!