Das geträumte Abenteuer (The Dreamed Adventure). 2026. Germany/France/Bulgaria/Austria. Directed by Valeska Grisebach. Screenplay by Grisebach, Lisa Bierwirth. With Syuleyman Letifov, Yana Radeva, Stoicho Kostadinov. DCP courtesy Janus Films. In Bulgarian; English subtitles. 170 min.
Valeska Grisebach’s fourth feature unfolds in the Bulgarian border outpost of Svilengrad, a town locals claim “begins where the law ends,” near one of the busiest land borders in Europe, at the threshold of Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. Said (Syuleyman Letifov) and Veska (luminous first-time performer Yana Radeva) each return after a long absence, and their chance reunion sets off a cascade of events revealing the ominous web of local mobsters who have run the town since the end of the Soviet days. Veska is an archaeologist overseeing a nearby excavation, but she’s not the only one digging up the past, literally and otherwise. Amid turf wars, the settling of old scores, and the rekindling old flames, Veska is left to negotiate her own desire to move freely through treacherous territory. Shot with an ensemble cast of nearly all nonprofessional actors, Grisebach’s elegant reinterpretation of the gangster movie pulses with remarkable naturalism, and maintains its winding, gripping hold from the first shot to the last. Winner of the Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize
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