GLORY

'If you thought that the infamous gold watch in Pulp Fiction caused a few problems, you should see what happens with the one in Glory, a sharply executed, superbly performed Bulgarian tragic dramedy.' – Hollywood Reporter

Bedraggled, bearded and stuttering railway worker Tsanko is about to have his reclusive life upended after stumbling on millions of leva on the train tracks and turning it in as a gesture of good faith. Awarded a token watch by the Ministry of Transport – who manage to misplace his cherished family timepiece in the process – Tsanko is feted as a national hero by cold-hearted careerist Julia and her PR team, who get more than they bargained for in the process.

What begins as a rich common-man fable in the Frank Capra tradition soon escalates into delicious black comedy, as writer/director team Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov (coming off their festival hit The Lesson) weave a tapestry of fraud, corruption and political expediency with a fantastically complex performance from Margita Gosheva in particular. Glory was awarded a special mention for New Cinema at the 2016 Locarno Film Festival.