"Stolen eyes" - a film which shows how to overcome cultural and religious

By: Svetlana Dicheva, Bulgarian National Radio

The Bulgarian film "Stolen Eyes" won the audience's Grand Prix at the 32nd edition of the film festival in Wurzburg, Germany. This is the Bulgarian film with the largest number of participations in international film festivals of recent years. The film is about a black period in recent Bulgarian history - in the late 80s, the Turkish minority in this country was forced to change their names and give up their ethnic identity. The story is about an impossible love between a Turkish woman and a Bulgarian man. They gradually overcome their animosity, accept their differences and draw towards each other. "Our desire in making this film was to heal the wound, not to open it back up" says the screenwriter Neri Terzieva. The director of "Stolen eyes" Radoslav Spasov, one of Bulgaria's most distinguished filmmakers, who has directed and shot more than 20 films, is astonished by a paradox - the film is more appreciated abroad than inside the country.

Since February 10, "Stolen Eyes" has been on at the cinema theaters throughout neighboring Turkey. Svetlana Dicheva from the Bulgarian National Radio interviewed Radoslav Spasov for Heritage Radio Network.