Imagine you knew what love is. If you know me, you know that I am always looking for love – for all kinds of it.

If love is an intention - intention to cherish and to give yourself in, then Dimitris is the personification of Love. He is completely dedicated with his body and soul to his muse – his work. That’s definitely one of the main reasons I decided to write this post. I promise you that after reading this article you will either be eager to watch everything Dimitris has directed or you would want to meet him in person to feel his unique vibe.

His work has depth and sincerity,attaching great importance to the details and the true tone of the story. You have that feeling that you don’t need to hear his characters speak, you only need to look them in the eyes and see their story, aspirations, conflicts, decisions etc.

I can’t and don’t want to hide what I feel when I communicate with Dimitris. He is the first person in this industry that made me show myself without any fear of judgement. Dimitris is one of those people who enter the room and you have that feeling that you already know him. You can easy laugh out loud or cry, share all you secrets no matter that you see him for the second time in your life. He has this ability to make you feel safe. That’s one of the reasons he is an exceptional young director, due to his remarkable approach to the actors. He finds a way to your soul through the frame of his eyes and translates even the most hidden messages into a universal understandable language.

As a child Dimitris had a videotapes collection under his bed, his parents even bought him a second bed for extra storage. Everything was ordered by genre. He had no idea that one day he will peruse career in filmmaking but he adored being in the video library next to his home, spending hours and hours looking at the movies, chatting with the costumers, recommending the most suitable film for their taste, discussing pros and cons for the latest movies. He had this immense need to immerse himself into the world of movies - to feel adrenaline, suspense, romance, to listen to the soundtracks, to observe the actors.

Until 9th grade he was sure he will become a singer. After that he had this idea to become an actor because all of his friends by then were studying acting in NATFA (National Academy of Theater and Film Arts), but like in every story that needs to be told, there comes a person who gives you another perspective on your possibilities. For Dimitris this was Gergana Todeva, a director who pushed him into writing. She gave him different tasks to write texts on various topics. After that she put a theater spectacle from his texts. That’s how the idea of writing and directing sparked in his mind and became even stronger and stronger with time. Things for him don’t actually happen as well as planned in his head. He was rejected from the NATFA two times; on the third time he was accepted but in another class – Dramaturgy. He spent his first year as an academy student writing and studying, dedicated with his heart to the opportunity he was given. When you don't get the things in your life right away and work hard for them - then you make sure you don't lose them. After the first year, he had the opportunity to transfer to Film and TV Directing, but that meant repeating the first year. He took the chance and began to work consistently towards fulfilling his dream.

In every task that professors were giving to him, he put in original thinking and, as he himself has emphasized, he never obeyed the rules, he was always going beyond the tasks set and gave himself the inspiration and desire to do the rest and the best. And if you think I exaggerate, here are some examples:

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Task from the Academy: Remake of a scene from a motion picture

Execution of the task: Remake of a scene from a musical - La La Land Bulgarian Remake Of The "Lovely Night" Scene

Task form the Academy: 7’ short fiction project | suspense

Execution of the task: The Last 2 Days | 25’ short film project

Awards:
Los Angeles CineFest, Best Short Film 2017
Bucharest Film Awards 2017, Best Director
Austrian Independent Film Festival 2018, Best Short Film
International New York Film Festival 2018, Best Actor in a Short Film -Velislav Pavlov

‍‍‍Task from the Academy: Music video to a Bulgarian Musical Piece
Execution of the task: THE GAP. He creates two versions – one for NATFA with music from a Bulgarian composer an done with classical piece - ADAGIO IN G MINOR from Tomaso Albinioni by Mac Quayle.

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Yes, he is breaking the rules but everything is covered with passion and faith. And even his professors started to understand his disobedience because they realize that if you are breaking the rules you first have to know them and that’s what Dimitris is doing for better results.

I can’t continue without acknowledging live performances trailers which he’s directing. All starts with Delhi Dance and has its own way of developing. For the first time, performances from the Bulgarian stage have trailers that advertise them as cinema. They have their own lives outside of the theatrical scene, but also manage to convey the messages to the theater directors through brief visual forms on screen.

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As I mentioned in the beginning till 9th grade Dimitris wanted to become a singer. He has special attitude towards music and pretty often this is his inspirational pill. Music drives his imagination to the fullest.

First music video as a director:

Then comes his meeting with Lily Geleva who is looking for a director for her music video and Dimitris is looking for the soundtrack of his short film Little Family Troubles. From first sight all looked like a random coincidence but when he hears the song he realizes that this is exactly the piece he is looking for. And not only it became a soundtrack of the film but he also directed its video.

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One led to another and together they did the social campaign music video Message in a Bottle.

As you can see in all of the credits of his projects – he is consistent with choosing his team. The truth in his opinion lies in their trust in each other. Everyone relies on the skills, talents and perspectives of the others. That’s what makes them a remarkable team.

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If they hadn’t faced all kinds of challenges together, they wouldn’t have been able to reach their last challenge, which is in the spotlight of all kinds of media. The short film inspired by true events about two recidivists break from Sofia Central Prison. One of them seeking revenge, the other following his own heart. Dimitris says that from a young age, the thing in films that gets him up to his feet, that draws his interest the most is when they are based on true events, when there is some kind of tragedy. And this is not just a story for escaped prisoners, this is а gentle experience beyond the constraints of finding a way back to yourself.

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Q&A

Q: If you could give your younger self an advice what would it be?
A: To never stop learning from my mistakes.They won’t stop happening, so just figure out how to be of use.

Q: If you can make a movie based on a book, from all the books in the world, which would you choose?

A: Something from Charles Dickens…David Copperfield.

Q: If your life was a movie what would the title be?

A: It.

Q: What about the soundtrack?

A: Johan Johansson, for sure!

Q: Who would play you in the movie of your life?

A: Dev Patel.And I would really like if it was possible for Bertolucci to direct it.

Q: Tell me your favorite quote.

A: „All social change comes from the passion of individuals“  by Louie Psihoyos.

Q: If you could ask your dog three questions what would they be?

I have to say that in this moment he looked his dog Woody straight in his eyes and said:

1.     Do you understand me?

2.     Do you approve of me?

3.     Do you remember?

Q: What about your personal life? When was your last date?

A: I haven’t been on a date since 1912… but I have around 1600 movies on my hard drive.

Q: Ha-ha-ha. Okay. And who is Dimitris when he is in love?
A: I am quite obsessive. And I always choose impossible relationships.

Q: Are your emotions helpful or the opposite?

A: There is no need people to know what my emotions are. More important for me is to knowtheirs.

Q: What are we going to do on this day after one year?
A: We will be celebrating the pre-production of our feature film, being happy that we have everything we need to do it.

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“True perfection is a bold quest to seek” but with his big heart and sensitivity all that lies ahead of him is going to be a beautiful adventure with every unique color of it.

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