Binka: To Tell a Story About Silence

Bulgarian film director Binka Zhelyazkova (1923-2011) never shrunk from controversy. A film pioneer, she was at the forefront of political cinema under Bulgaria's Communist dictatorship. Her allegorical and urban dramas examined human rights, artistic freedom and the legitimacy of the political system itself. While she was well regarded abroad and her work reached such film festivals as the Expo 67, Montreal, Cannes Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Cartagena Film Festival, Moscow Film Festival, Karlovi Vari Film Festival, in Bulgaria she was met with suspicion and distrust. The double standard applied to Binka Zhelyazkova was evident. While openly, the communist government awarded her artistic achievements, behind the scenes she was fired from the film studio, her films were banned and her projects rejected every time she dared to ask questions and not comply with the accepted rules. Four out of her nine films were stopped from distribution and barely seen by audiences after 1989