A screening of the documentary film about Elin Pelin and Yordan Yovkov, “Boryana” vs. “Geratsite”, took place on June 17 in the “Prof. Marin Drinov” Hall of BAS. The event was part of the “BAS Presents:” initiative which began last year with the aim of having the Academy’s professional communities showcase contemporary artists through a series of exhibitions, concerts, screenings, and performances.
The Vice-President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Prof. Emmanuel Moutafov welcomed the guests to the hall. The film’s screenwriter is Assoc. Prof. Teodora Stoilova-Doncheva, PhD, from the “Screen Arts” Department of the BAS Institute of Art Studies, and Assoc. Prof. Elka Traykova, PhD, from the BAS Institute of Literature appears in the film, he noted.
“Boryana vs. Geratsite” (Boryana vs. the Gerak Family) is a film about two Bulgarian writers who lived during an interesting era whose works continue to inspire us today. Following the screening at BAS, a discussion was held with the film’s production team. “Through one of the biggest intellectual scandals of their time, we tell the story of the two great Bulgarian writers – Elin Pelin and Yordan Yovkov – to highlight both their similarities and their differences. We’ll move beyond the schoolroom clichés to present them to students in a way they can understand. In the minds of the younger generation, however, both are usually viewed through the lens of boring clichés. That is why we believe this documentary helps to rethink their significance or, at the very least, shake up the trivial perceptions of them,” the team explains regarding their work on the documentary.
Creators and contributors to the film:
Assoc. Prof. Elka Traykova, PhD., Assoc. Prof. Boyko Penchev, PhD., Dr. Mitko Novkov, director Stanislav Donchev, and screenwriter Assoc. Prof. Teodora Stoilova-Doncheva, PhD.
BORYANA VS. GERATSITE – Bulgaria, 2025, 70 min, Documentary, Biographical
