The Island | |
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Bulgarian | Островът |
Directed by | Kamen Kalev |
Written by | Kamen Kalev |
Produced by | Anguel Christanov Kamen Kalev Elitza Katzarska Stela Pavlova Filip Todorov Emre Yeksan Fredrik Zander |
Starring | Thure LindhardtLaetitia Casta |
Cinematography | Julian Atanassov |
Music by | Jean-Paul Wall |
Release dates |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
Countries | Bulgaria Sweden |
Languages | Bulgarian, English, French |
Budget | € 1,500,000 (estimated) |
The Island (Bulgarian: Островът, romanized: Ostrovăt) is the second film from Bulgarian director Kamen Kalev.[1] It is a Bulgarian-Swedish production about a young Parisian couple vacationing on a small island off the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The film premiered on 16 May 2011 at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes 2011.[2]
Sophie and Daneel, both in their early thirties, are a close and passionate couple living in Paris. Sophie initiates a surprise journey to Bulgaria. Daneel explicitly refuses to go, but Sophie insists and convinces him to leave. When they arrive, Sophie discovers that Daneel was born there.
After a few hours on the crowded beaches, Daneel leads Sophie to an abandoned island lost in the Black Sea. Once there, Daneel discovers pregnancy tests in Sophie’s luggage. The heat and the strange few inhabitants soon alter their behaviors, and the island slowly reveals hidden fears that question their love. To get through it all, they have to jump into the unknown.
Festival participation / Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
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43rd Directors' Fortnight, Cannes[2] | 16 May 2011 | Feature films | Kamen Kalev | Nominated |
17th Sarajevo Film Festival[3] | 24 July 2011 | In Focus selection | Kamen Kalev | Nominated |
44th Sitges Film Festival[4] | 10 October 2011 | Noves Visions - Ficció | Kamen Kalev | Nominated |
27th Haifa International Film Festival[5] | 14 October 2011 | Cinematheque | Kamen Kalev | Nominated |
30th Golden Rose film festival, Varna[6] | 18 October 2011 | Best Cinematographer | Julian Atanassov | Won |
40th Festival International de Films de Montréal[7] | 19 October 2011 | International Selection | Kamen Kalev | Nominated |
33rd Montpellier Film Festival[8] | 23 October 2011 | Features - competition | Kamen Kalev | Nominated |
52nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival[9] | 7 November 2011 | Balkan Survey | Kamen Kalev | Nominated |
42nd International Film Festival of India, Goa[10] | 28 November 2011 | Cinema of the world | Kamen Kalev | Nominated |