Viktoria — U.S. Trailer

added: Sun, Apr 3rd '16

With the visual flair of a skilled auteur, Bulgarian writer-director Maya Vitkova makes an impressive debut with her semi-biographical arthouse drama "Viktoria."

The film follows three generations of women (one of which entails a young girl born without an umbilical cord) during a significant period in Bulgaria's history: the fall of communism and the country's initial shift to democracy.

Part pitch-black satire, part political fable, "Viktoria" was a critical hit when it premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. It's now getting a stateside release, opening in New York on April 29th and Los Angeles on June 10th. Watch the film's U.S. trailer, above.

synopsis:
Maya Vitkova’s stunning debut feature Viktoria, which had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last year, follows three generations of women in the final years of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria and the early years of the transition to democracy. The film focuses on reluctant mother Boryana and her daughter, Viktoria, who in one of the film’s surreal, magical touches is born without an umbilical cord. Though unwanted by her mother, Viktoria is named the country’s Baby of the Decade, and is showered with gifts and attention until the disintegration of the East Bloc. Despite throwing their worlds off balance, the resulting political changes also allow for the possibility of reconciliation. Vitkova wrote, produced and directed Viktoria, making it both personal and universal, and demonstrating a precocious command of all elements of the filmmaking process. Especially impressive is the film’s visual sensibility and its command of a range of shifting tones, from absurdist humor to political allegory to deeply moving familial drama.

directed by Maya Vitkova

starring Irmena Chichikova, Daria Vitkova, Kalina Vitkova, Mariana Krumova, Dimo Dimov, Georgi Spasov

release date April 29, 2016 (New York) and June 10, 2016 (Los Angeles)