SURVA
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
THE 2017 FILM 'ICARUS' TAUGHT ME THAT AS A FILMMAKER; YOU ALMOST NEVER ACHIEVE THE FILM YOU SET OUT TO MAKE. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE REVELATIONS AND SET BACKS WHEN WORKING WITH REAL LIFE CONTENT. THE BEST THING TO DO IS TO ADAPT TO THESE CHANGES, AND FOLLOW YOUR BEST LEADS- WHICH IS EAXTLY WHAT WE DID WHILE WORKING ON SURVA.
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THE CREW AND I WERE DEVASTATED TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE CANCELATION OF SURVA'S MASQUERADE FESTIVAL, BUT WE PERSEVERED; KNOWING THAT THERE WAS STILL A STORY LEFT TO BE UNCOVERED. I AM SO GLAD WE DID- THE FINAL OUTCOME HAS MUCH MORE DEPTH AND HUMAN ELEMENT THAN THE ORIGINAL TRAVEL DOCUMENTARY, I AM HOPING THAT BY SCREENING THIS FILM I'LL BE ABLE TO SHED SOME LIGHT ON THE HUMANITARIAN ISSUE THAT THE FILM SHOWS, POSSIBLY EVEN ARRANGE A FUNDING SCHEME FOR THOSE IN NEED.
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THE CREW WAS SMALL, ONLY THREE OF US IN TOTAL, BUT THIS WAS IDEAL FOR ALL OF THE CROWDED, HECTIC LOCATIONS. OUR CHOSEN EQUIPMENT WAS ALSO SUITED TOWARDS THESE ENVIRONMENTS, THE MAIN KIT CONSISTING OF TWO BLACKMAGIC POCKET CINEMAS, TWO DJI RONIN GIMBALS, AND A H5 ZOOM RECORDERS. THE MAIN AIM WAS TO TRAVEL LIGHT, WITH VERSATILE EQUIPMENT, WHILE STILL MAINTAINING A 'CINEMATIC' LOOK ON FILM- SOMETHING THE POCKET CINEMAS ARE GREAT FOR. TO OPERATE THE CAMERAS, I ENROLLED THE TWO BEST CINEMATOGRAPHERS I KNOW; CHRISTIAN STERK AND TOM. FORTUNATELY, CHRISTIAN IS NATIVE BULGARIAN AND WAS ABLE TO TRANSLATE ALL INTERVIEWS ON- LOCATION, TOM'S BULGARIAN WAS NOT QUITE UP TO PAR, BUT HE FULLY IMMERSED HIMSELF IN THE NEW CULTURE AND KNEW EXACTLY WHERE TO BE BEFORE THE ACTION UNFOLDED.
I FIRST HOPE TO SUBMIT 'SURVA' AS MY FINAL UNIVERSITY FILM, BUT I AM ALSO HOPING TO ENTER SEVERAL INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVALS, THE FIRST BEING 'WE ART WATER INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL' IN THE HOPES THAT THE EXPOSURE WILL RAISE SOME AWARENESS OF THE PROBLEMS IN PERNIK.
FILM SYNOPSIS
IN THE DRAWING BOARD STAGE OF 'SURVA', A MUCH DIFFERENT FILM HAD BEEN PLANNED. WHAT INITIALLY SET OUT TO BE A CINEMATIC TRAVEL DOCUMENTARY, DEVELOPED INTO A MUCH MORE EMOTIVE, POIGNANT FILM, ABOUT A POPULATION IN CRISIS.
THE ANNUAL SURVA FESTIVAL HAD BEEN ARRANGED FOR THE FINAL WEEK OF JANUARY 2020, ONLY A WEEK BEFORE THE FLIGHTS DID THE CREW FIND OUT THE THE HIGE SPECTACLE HAD BEEN CANCELLED, WITH ALL KUKERI PERFORMERS AND LOCAL PERFORMERS NOW UNWILLING TO PARTICIPATE. THEY WERE EVEN MORE RESISTANT TO DISCUSS THE REASONS FOR THE CANCELLATION.
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THE CREW PERSISTED WITH THEIR PLANS TO FLY OUT TO THE SMALL, BALKAN TOWN, IF ONLY TO INVESIGATE INTO THE SUDDEN CHANGE OF PLANS. FORTUNATELY, THEY MET ANOTHER FILMMAKING DUO- ËTRUTH STREAM MEDIAÍ WHO WERE FOLLOWING THE SAME LEADS SO THE CREW CHOSE TO USE USE THE DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS AS KEY PLAYERS IN THE OWN NARRATIVE.
TOGETHER, THEY DISCOVERED THAT PERNIK WAS SUFFERING FROM A TWO MONTH LONG DROUGHT, WITH 82,000 RESIDENTS FACING A DAILY WATER REGIME. INSTEAD OF SURVA, THE PEOPLE OF THE TOWN CAME TO PROTEST AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT'S LACK OF ACTION.
THE MAYOR OF PERNIK, STANISLAV VLADIMIROV WAS KEEN TO DEFEND HIS EFFORTS ON FILM, INVITING THE CREW FOR AN INTERVIEW TO DISCUSS HIS UPCOMING PLAN OF ACTION.
THIS DOCUMENTARY HIGHLIGHTS THE TWO OPPOSING SIDES IN PERNIK, THE PEOPLE VS THE GOVERNMENT THE CONFLICT IS TOLD THROUGH THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE SPECTATING FILMMAKERS; MELISSA AND AARON DYKES.
MEET THE CREW
CHRISTIAN STERKRI
CAMERA OPERATOR
WITH A BACKGROUND IN THE GERMAN MILITARY, CHRIS IS ALWAYS THE MOST DETERMINED AND RELENTLESS PERSON ON THE CREW. SURVA WOULD DEFINITELY NOT HAVE BEEN MADE POSSIBLE WITHOUT ALL THE HARD WORK FROM HIM. NOT ONLY DID HE MANAGE TO BALANCE A 200MM ZOOM LENS ON TO A DJI RONIN GIMBAL, HE ALSO ACTED A PERSONAL TOUR GUIDE, AN AIR B AND B HOST, AND A TRANSLATOR THROUGHOUT.
KELLY RODAWAY
PRODUCER/ DIRECTOR/ EDITOR
SURVA REALLY STEMMED FROM KELLY’S LOVE OF TRAVEL AND HER EXCITEMENT TO FILM SOME NEVER- BEFORE SEEN FESTIVITIES FROM ABROAD. EVENTHOUGH THE INITIAL TRAVEL DOCUMENTARY FILM IDEA FELL THROUGH, SHE PERSISTED WITH THE WATER- SHORTAGE NARRATIVE, BELIEVING THAT THE STORY HAD TO BE SHARED WITH THE WORLD. DURING THE 5 DAYS OF FILMING, KELLY LED ALL OF THE DOCUMENTARIES, AND THEN WAS THE LEADING EDITOR ONCE BACK HOME IN ENGLAND, PIECING TOGETHER THE INDIVIDUAL STORIES TO MAKE A SINGLE, EMOTIVE PLOT.
TOM LAXTON
CAMERA OPERATOR
TOM FELL IN LOVE WITH BULGARIA AS SOON AS WE LANDED, HE WAS SO EXCITED BY THE NEW CULTURE, THE NEW FOODS, AND THE EXCITING STORY WHICH WAS UNFOLDING IN FRONT OF US. HIS PASSION FOR THE NARRATIVE WAS CLEAR DURING THE FILMING PROCESS AS HE WAS ALWAYS IN THE CENTRE OF THE ACTION, TRYING TO CATCH THE MOST GENUINE SHOTS OF THE PERFORMERS AND PROTESTORS.
