The incredible story of Eli Skorcheva’s return to the big screen after three decades in Bulgarian Oscar hopeful The Lessons of Blaga

This could be the comeback of the decade. In her first film role in almost thirty years, the leading role is played by Bulgarian actress Eli Skorcheva – who went into exile from the cinema, changed careers and took odd jobs, including as a cleaning lady. Blaga’s lessonsWhich won her the Best Actress award at this year’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival and is Bulgaria’s entry for the 2024 International Film Oscar.

Stephan Komandarev’s film also won the Grand Prix Crystal Globe in Karlovy Vary and just received the Grand Jury Prize at the Rome Film Festival.

Like Skorcheva’s fortuitous first foray into the movies in the late 1970s with a leading role that made her a star, her successful comeback was unplanned; it comes courtesy of her dog. (More on this later.) Your triumph with Blaga’s lessons It may also have been predicted by Baba Vanga, the famous Bulgarian blind mystic who predicted 9/11, among other major world events.

Ever since she left behind her childhood fascination with a career as a naval pilot, astrophysicist or archaeologist, Eli (pronounced Eh-lee) knew she wanted to be an actress. But her father, a construction worker, had other ideas and quietly withdrew her documents from the secondary school she attended in her hometown of Plovdiv. Instead, she had to enroll in a vocational high school specializing in construction.

She reluctantly went there and discovered a surprising talent and love for mathematics. But the detour didn’t stop her from following her dream career and after graduating, she applied to the Bulgarian National Academy of Theater and Film Arts in Sofia, at a time when around 1,300 girls around a single place competed.

On her first day at the academy, she was wanted for a small role in a television series that was filmed the next day. She only agreed after production promised her transportation so she could return in time for her academy audition.

However, the filming came too late and she was not provided with a car. When she finally reached the academy, her group was called.

Desperate, Skorcheva followed the porter’s advice to go to the nearest clinic, get sick and get a doctor’s note. She passed the acting exam and got back on track with the academy entrance exams, which she passed despite a lack of formal training – concentrating on theater and abandoning a film career.

“The chaos, nobody knowing exactly what they’re doing, I didn’t like it at all and I vowed never to touch the cinema again,” she said of her first experience on a film set.

Such was her disdain for motion pictures that she refused to submit her portrait to the national motion picture database, as is required of all Academy students.

Despite her best efforts to hide as a sophomore, Skorcheva landed the lead role the change, A three-part film for television was unsuccessful after an exhaustive search involving all young actresses in the database and beyond. She refused the audition for a month until she got the script and loved it, a rule she stuck to throughout her career.

Skorcheva landed the lead role in the film, which became a huge hit, making her an overnight star and earning her the first of many national acting awards. A series of high-profile film and theater roles followed.

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As her acting career blossomed in the 1980s, Skorcheva took risks by supporting causes against the communist regime, including a hunger strike in solidarity with Czech dissident (and future president) Václav Havel and a petition against the government’s campaign to change names forced. Bulgarian Turks.

Even after the fall of communism in 1989, she lent her face and voice to the democracy movement and later withdrew when the opposition parties reached parliament and government, saying she did not want to interfere in politics.

In the early 1990s, as Bulgaria struggled with economic problems during the rocky democratic transition, government financial support for the film industry dried up.

“It was a devastating blow to Bulgarian art. For eight to 10 years there was no cinema, it was dead,” said Skorcheva.

In the absence of films and plays, mostly supported by aspiring oligarchs and organized crime bosses, she decided to leave the business.

“Everything I was offered was a big compromise,” Skorcheva said of her motivations. “I didn’t want to disappear and be humiliated; I wanted to go home with work I wasn’t ashamed of and at the same time be at the top of my career.”

Skorcheva worked for an insurance company and earned a degree in management and marketing for the insurance industry. She also worked for a construction company for a while, where she was able to use her high school education.

“I was not afraid of any field; I am ready to try anything if necessary,” said Skorcheva. “And it’s always been very important to me to do my best in everything I do, because there’s no such thing as an embarrassing job, just an embarrassing way of doing it.”

After caring for her sick parents (both suffered from dementia) for eight years, she found herself “in a deep hole, financially, physically, emotionally, psychologically – but also socially” after their death. She started working as a prison personnel manager for a company where she and her team regularly cleaned.

Skorcheva was still cleaning when she filmed Blaga’s lessons. Feeling forgotten by the new generation of Bulgarian filmmakers, she practically forgot to make a professional acting comeback at this point.

Nevertheless: “I didn’t stop acting, I did it in everyday life, even when I communicate with my dog,” she said with a smile. “I speak to family members and other people on his behalf.”

Skorcheva’s rescue dog, a French bulldog named Jerry, not only helped her keep her acting talent alive, but also helped her land her comeback film. When Skorcheva took him for his daily walk to a nearby dog ​​park, he was approached by another dog owner who recognized the former movie star.

He turned out to be an experienced casting director who asked Skorcheva to join his agency’s roster of actors during their regular discussions about the state of the Bulgarian film and theater world while walking their dogs. She agreed. The first film he approached her for was Komandarev’s Blaga’s lessons.

As always, Skorcheva asked to read the script first. She devoured it and signed for the role the same day.

In Blaga’s lessonsSkorcheva plays Blaga, a recently widowed retired teacher who falls victim to phone scammers. Without the help of the authorities, her bank or her estranged son after losing all her money, Blaga takes matters into her own hands and turns the tables on the criminals who defrauded her in a story that “takes an unexpectedly shocking turn in its captivating climax.” .(You can watch a trailer below.)

For a cheerful and positive person like Skorcheva, it was not easy to embody Blaga, she admitted. She left the dressing table by the door and wore only moisturizer throughout the film, which was visible on screen.

Nevertheless, it was not difficult to be in front of the camera again after thirty years of absence.

“The experiences I gained during this time made me better,” Skorcheva said. “It was easier to work and a lot more fun.”

She hopes people are watching Blaga’s lessons. (See below for a list of remaining Los Angeles shows).

“It’s interesting to watch because it’s a thriller, social, but a thriller nonetheless,” she said. “There’s also a very dark sense of humor that I really like. And I think the film is very relatable because every adult, without exception, feels guilty towards an old person around them, about something they did or didn’t do, about something they said or didn’t say, even though it had to be like that.

Skorcheva saw the finished film for the first time at its world premiere in Carlsbad and it exceeded all her expectations.

And while she was happy about the awards, “the best experience in Carlsbad was not when I was presented with the statuette, but when the film ended at the premiere and people started clapping and standing,” she said. “The standing ovation lasted more than ten minutes. This emotional wave of recognition, love and admiration grows as it is passed from person to person. I found myself in the middle of these 1,400 people and had to deal with this emotional tsunami; It was breathtaking.”

Skorcheva’s newfound international success at the age of 69 overturned a decades-old prediction by the late Baba Vanga that she would be given “golden keys” as she grew older. Skorcheva is unsure what this means, but many have interpreted the holding of the trophy on the Carlsbad stage as a fulfillment of the prophecy.

Since Blaga’s lessons, Skorcheva made one short film and turned down three feature film offers. She hopes there will be more of the same after the movie’s official premiere in Bulgaria later this month. She now works as an assistant for the management of a children’s hospital in Sofia.

“I have to work, I have no pension,” Skorcheva said, referring to a major fire years ago that destroyed the employment records of Bulgarian film actors like her and left them without pension documents.

She says she’s too proud to jump through hoops and beg for Social Security after working most of her adult life. “I prefer to work until I can again, until I can breathe again, but I will not accept starvation wages,” she said.

As for her own lessons, standing up for what she believes in and doing things her own way is a big step.

“Secondly, I am grateful for everything that has happened in my life, because they have all taught me valuable lessons, given me a joyful or sobering experience and led me to it. Blaga’s lessons.”

Looking ahead, she said, “I’m just full of excitement and no matter what happens, I have no problem starting new things.” NO.

Thursday, November 2, 7:00 p.m
IPIC Theatre
10840 Wilshire Blvd
Westwood, CA 90024

Questions and answers after the film with director Stephan Komandarev

Reception with Dir. Stephan Komandarev

Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 7:00 a.m. PT
Crescent Cinema
100 N. Crescent Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Reception with Dir. Stephan Komandarev