Glance from the Edge

Glance from the Edge is a poetic journey of six individuals swept across a tapestry of Bulgarian landscapes, where they explore relationships, place, and belonging through a series of dances in the breathtakingly beautiful Bulgaria.

As Bulgarian artists who predominantly create abroad, Stephanie and I were inspired to direct our attention and the gaze of our audience towards our home country, which dazzles with its cultural and historical landmarks.

We were also interested in interpreting Bulgaria through the fresh eyes of someone who is taking in these locations for the very first time, so we reached out to trusted collaborators from New York, Scotland and Tunisia. The project brought to Bulgaria two American artists - DoP Kevin Chiu and composer Jude Icarus. After creating our short WAITING FOR COLOR about the persecution of LGBTQ+ people in Chechnya, which was selected at over 30 festivals worldwide and won the Grand Prix Lumiere at Cinédanse Festival in Canada, I knew Jude and Kevin would be the perfect collaborators for Glance from the Edge.

In creating it, we wanted to inspire the Bulgarian audience to perceive Bulgaria in a new way and to promote the country as a destination among the international audience. We always went back to one idea while choreographing and being on set: “If people go out after the movie and they want to dance, then we've accomplished our goal".

The lead characters are brought to life by the prominent Bulgarian contemporary dancers Vasil Zelyamov, Gergana Ilieva, Tsveta Doycheva and Petar Grudov (alongside Kosta & Stephanie). The film uses the language of contemporary dance to tell an emotional story about wandering and searching for our place in the world. The locations that the film brings to life through dance are Ovech Fortress, the rock arch near Tyulenovo, Sunny Beach, the Museum of Religions in Stara Zagora, the Submerged Church near Zhrebchevo Dam, the lavender fields near Kazanlak, the Old Town in Plovdiv, the Marble Lake near Pravoslav and the brutalist apartment complexes in capital Sofia.