Gloomy and realistic

When did you start working on "German Lessons"?

Pavel Vesnakov: Financing began around five years ago in Bulgaria, before we decided in favour of a co-production. The story was a little different at that time. Then the financing in Bulgaria came to a halt and the project was delayed. So I had time to think about the story again. I began to ask myself what it means to leave your home country. It became a very personal film, everything happens in my old neighbourhood in Sofia. So I look back a little on my life 25 years ago.

Do some of your friends who still live in your old neighbourhood appear in the film?

Pavel Vesnakov: You can hear a few of my friends in off-screen dialogues. Apart from that, we only filmed with professional actors.

Where did you film everywhere?

Pavel Vesnakov: The entire film was shot in Sofia - mostly in the outskirts of the city. In other words, where the majority of the middle class lives.

Pavel, you've already worked with Orlin on previous projects. How do you know each other?

Pavel Vesnakov: We've already made six films together and met for the first time in the studio around twelve years ago. I was working there as a student and at the time I was making a film that I needed for my degree at university. Orlin had more experience and helped me.

Is there a connection between "German Lessons" and your earlier works?

Pavel Vesnakov: The characters and the setting are always somewhat similar in my films. The content is usually dark and very realistic.

You were also at Optical Art in Hamburg with your film in post production. What did you do there?

Pavel Vesnakov: This was our third time there for colour grading. It's a very delicate process that allows you to change the colours and therefore the whole mood of the film. It took us a while to find the right look. It's a super important job that's really a lot of fun.

Orlin Ruevski: We spent the first three days experimenting with different looks, making the colours darker and lighter and seeing what would make the film look best and what would best support the story.

Did everything go smoothly during filming?

Pavel Vesnakov: I wrote the dialogue in the film on my own. You really hear them for the first time during rehearsals, where they are often read very quickly. When you're actually shooting, you realise in some places that the dialogue doesn't work the way you imagined it would. So there were always shooting days where we rewrote the dialogue together with the actors in their own words.

Can you name a few filmmakers who have influenced your work?

Pavel Vesnakov: I really like the work of Kelly Reichardt. But my absolute favourite director is rather unknown and has actually only made one film: Lance Hammer with his drama "Ballast", which also won an award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. At the moment, however, I'm more interested in photographers and their work. They have a strong influence on my work, such as the American photographer Alex Webb.

Orlin Ruevski: My favourite at the moment is Roger Deakins, one of the most famous DOPs in the world.

Tell us something about the Bulgarian film scene

Pavel Vesnakov: There are a few young filmmakers who are currently quite successful in the feature film sector. Ralitza Petrova with his film "Godless" is one of them. Or Ilian Metev with his film "3/4". Petar Valchanov and Kristina Grozeva have also attracted attention with their film "The Father"; the same applies to Milko Lazarov and his work "Aga".