Young Artists Capture Sozopol

By: Svetlana Dicheva, Bulgarian National Radio

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What is "Apolonia"? It is a summer-fall festival of culture, which gathers in the beginning of September the Bulgarian cultural bohemia and the fans of culture in the picturesque seaside town of Sozopol. The Apolonia ingredients: sea, air, beach, music, theater, exhibitions, writers' meetings, youths in groups, commencing, rising, mature and waning artists, all in the same melting pot, all on the beach in the morning; from one to the next cultural event during the day; in the evening - to the theater or concert; and in the small hours after midnight - in the numberless pubs. All that is abundantly being bathed not only in much alcohol but also in plenty of rain - traditionally the sky breaks down in the beginning of September but the artists do not complain. They take it as a calling card of the festival.

This year the festival takes place for the 21st time. The previous was an anniversary and a very splendid one, with a rich program and a great number of visitors. This year, the festival is not aiming at striking a balance. The unifying idea is the powerful presence of youth - lots of young talents and lots of first nights. Even the Apolonia poster has been created by the student of the National Academy of Arts, Svetlin Belezderov. Fifteen young painters will make their debuts in a joint exhibition. Comparatively young theater directors like Yavor Gardev, Marius Kourkinski, Elena Panayotova and Ivailo Hristov will show their stagings. Moviemaniacs will see for the first time motion pictures awarded international prizes. Such is the fate of Bulgarian cinema of late; it is awarded prizes abroad, while the motion pictures are rarely shown on the screens in this country. Among the eagerly expected titles are "Death and the Whole Road Backwards" by Zornitza-Sofia, "George and the Butterflies" by Andrey Paunov, "Stolen Eyes" by Radoslav Spassov. Musicians, as usually, are the featherbedded children of the festival - with the most numerous and most varied appearances. Among the most well known names are Lidiya Oshavkova, Milena Mollova, Theodosy Spassov, Ivo Papazov, and "The Crickets".

The great literary intrigue at the festival is whether the Nobel Prize Laureate Elfriede Jelineck will attend the first theatrical performance of her play on Bulgarian stage (the so called, "table theater"). She has written over 40 plays so far, and none of them has been on Bulgarian stage yet. Prof. Vladko Mourdarov is translating about 20 of them, which will probably be published by the end of the year.

At this year's version of Apolonia there are also visitors from abroad: Artur Dutkevich, a pianist from Poland, Deep Fried Angel Fish - a jazz group from Holland, the American violoncellist John Kohen and the Hungarian sculptor Terez Borza.

Do not think that Apolonia manages within 10 days to uplift the values and to place culture ahead of politics, social and economic problems. No, the covers from the sea festival are always bringing up the rear of the information broadcasts, if they are there at all. Nevertheless, it is still a break through all right. Even the most sceptical among critics, who are always dissatisfied and keep constantly whining that Apolonia is like a warmed up yesterday's meal, because it is a summer version of first nights shown during the past season, they never miss the opening of the festival. If you ask them bluntly "why", they will answer you: "Well, and what if right now SOMETHING happens?"

 

 

 

 

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