Film Archive

A Provincial Hospital

Crystal Globe Competition 2022 / Edna provintsialna bolnitsa / Bulgaria, Germany 2022

A provincial hospital in Bulgaria, Covid ward. This observational documentary draws our attention to the country’s antiquated healthcare system and reminds us of our attitudes at the time when faced with an unknown threat. A skilfully constructed survey of the bleak goings-on in an underfunded facility where, even when looking death in the face, people still manage to find their sense of humour.

Synopsis

A provincial hospital serving a town with a population of 50,000 in western Bulgaria: here in the Covid ward the eccentric Dr Popov and his team are fighting to save lives. Award-winning director Ilian Metev (Sofia’s Last Ambulance), together with Ivan Chertov and Zlatina Teneva, naturally isn’t aiming to depict human suffering. Their survey of an ordinary Bulgarian hospital environment seeks instead to draw our attention to the country’s obsolete and underfunded healthcare system and, via the various situations they depict, to remind us of our attitudes at the time when faced with an unknown threat. However, the bleak proceedings are offset by cheery interviews conducted in the hospital’s rooms and corridors which show that, even when looking death in the face, people still have a sense of humour.

Martin Horyna

About the film

110 min / Color, DCP
World premiere
Director Ilian Metev, Ivan Chertov, Zlatina Teneva / Screenplay Ilian Metev, Ivan Chertov, Zlatina Teneva / Dir. of Photography Ivan Chertov / Sound Ivan Andreev / Editor Ilian Metev / Producer Martichka Bozhilova / Production Agitprop Ltd. / Coproduction Sutor Kolonko, Chaconna Films / Contact Agitprop Ltd.

About the director

Ilian Metev (1981, Sofia, Bulgaria). Selected filmography: Sofia’s Last Ambulance (2012, doc.), 3/4 (2017), A Provincial Hospital (2022). Ivan Chertov (Sofia, Bulgaria). Filmography: A Provincial Hospital (2022). Zlatina Teneva (Bulgaria). Filmography: A Provincial Hospital (2022).