Eastern Plays

Eastern Plays is a Bulgarian-Swedish drama directed by Kamen Kalev, who also wrote the screenplay and produced it with Stefan Piryov and Anguel Christanov. Released in 2009, the film follows two estranged brothers whose lives collide during a racist attack in Sofia. Georgi, the younger, has recently joined a neo-Nazi group and takes part in the beating of a Turkish family, while the older brother, Itso, witnesses the violence and steps in to rescue the family. The two meet again unexpectedly, and the incident forces both to question the paths they have chosen. Itso, a drug-addicted artist, hopes to leave behind his difficult existence in the city, while Georgi begins to doubt his political convictions.

Christo Christov plays Itso and Ovanes Torosian plays Georgi, with Saadet Işıl Aksoy as Isil, Nikolina Yancheva as Niki, and Ivan Nalbantov and Krasimira Demirova as the brothers' father and stepmother. The credited cast numbers 41. The film runs 83 minutes.

Made early in Kalev's career as a feature director, the film belongs to a period of renewed international attention for Bulgarian cinema. On TMDB it holds a rating of 6.4 out of 10 from 35 votes, indicating a modest but positive response from those who have seen it.