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i'm not a bad man
2024 | documentary film
bulgaria | slovakia | czech republic
in post-production
70 min
i'm not a bad man
2024 | documentary film
bulgaria | slovakia | czech republic
in post-production
70 min
logline
A former Warsaw Pact soldier travels to Prague for the first time in 55 years and meets a man who was on the streets protesting the very occupation the soldier was a part of in 1968.
synopsis
It is said that when it comes to orders, there is no choice. But is that true? The story of Kolyo, a 19-year-old Bulgarian soldier who took part in the invasion of Czechoslovakia by occupying forces, is an example of how a person’s beliefs, will, and strength can be broken by the decision of a great power. More than half a century later, he returns to Prague, this time welcomed like any other traveler. A confrontation with a witness to the events, a Czech man named Martin, opens up unfamiliar human emotions, as both sides understand that neither is a bad person.
director's note
This film is not about the USSR or Bulgaria, nor is it about Czechoslovakia. This is an anti-war film. It is a film that asks you to understand that good and evil do not exist at the level of the superpowers that decide when and where war breaks out. The good and the bad are us – ordinary people. Those who elect their governments, decide what to believe, and how much effort they devote to the search for truth. Those who can see the truth beyond what the media and news channels tell us, and criticize those who control our destinies.
It is easy to choose sides, but it is essential to seek the truth beyond those sides.
I’m Not a Bad Man follows an occupant back into the territory he once invaded. It brings him in conversation with those he invaded, and it gives him the chance to show his side of the story. Hopefully it will help us understand that giving teenagers guns and forcing them into dangerous situations – whether in 1968 or today – is an illegal and frightening way to govern. This film is a journey through the inhumanity of war and the cruelty of people being forced to believe in its virtues. Let us take this journey together.
crew
director nadya todorova
writer nadya todorova
director of photography maria tsvetkova
producer radka georgieva
co-producer anastas shipkov
co-producers nukleon frame
peter poch | adéla konečná | vojtěch konečný
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