Director: Andrey Slabakov
Operator: Dimitar Gotchev, Alexander Stanishev and Anton Ognyanov
Writer: Andrey Slabakov and Alexander Donev
Producer: Dimitar Gotchev
Roles: Martin Lubenov, Milcho Leviev, Sabina Sherbak,
Neno Iliev, Zhivko Stoyanov, Maria Gradechlieva,
Mladen Malakov, Dimitre Dinev, Imre Bozoki,
Ivo Papazov-Ibryam, Ateshchan Yusseinov,
Sascho Pamukov, Krasimir Malakov, Saadan
Peerzada
“The gypsy music is difficult to describe, but wherever there
are gypsies, there is music too. Our life is quite hard, and if we
didn’t have our music, we would all have to commit suicide.
Music is our medicine, our opium.”
Chico Iliev
A 30-year-old Roma accordion player creates a band in
Vienna and names it “Jazzta-Prasta”. This band wins the most
prestigious Austrian award for “world music”. The film follows
the young virtuoso on his way back to Bulgaria for a first time
after 10 years of emigration. Here in the town of Kotel, one of
the poorest Roma community in the country he is tutoring a
workshop for gifted local teenagers.
Martin Lubenov does not conform to the myth of the
talented but suffering gypsy. Yet he is not an idealistic hero
who discards the anty-gypsy cliché either. His music reflects
all the artistic ideas and traditions, which have been unifying
our national culture through the years.
This film is about the road that the musician takes regardless
of the borders, ethical prejudices and the inertia of
conservative thinking.