We Were Young + Intro
Binka Zhelyazkova’s brilliant feature explores a touching love story that develops during an attempt to thwart Nazi occupation in 1940s Bulgaria.
Bulgaria 1961 dir Binka Zhelyazkova 110min
Like many of Zhelyazkova’s films, We Were Young takes place in the early 1940s and centres its story around a handful of youngsters in their late teens, who are willing to risk everything in order to oppose the Nazi occupation. Amidst the political chaos, a love story blooms between two of them, Veska and Dimo, beautifully played by Rumyana Karabelova and Dimitar Buynozov. Through their romance, Zhelyazkova considers the cost of resistance and sacrifice.
Zhelyazkova’s sophomore feature remains stunningly elegant while it simmers with suspense: clandestine meetings, the safety of shadows, and the murmur of a quotidian forever beyond reach for the partisans. We Were Young shines in this brand-new restoration from 2021.
This screening will be introduced by curator Savina Petkova.
This screening is part of Hidden Figures: Binka Zhelyazkova, our retrospective celebrating the centenary of Bulgaria’s first female filmmaker and one of Eastern Europe’s greatest auteurs.
Sun 17 Sept 17:40
Barbican Centre, Cinema 2
