The Reunion
Stefan Danailov has a special appearance in “The Reunion,” Niki Iliev’s new film.
Less than a month after shooting of the romcom “The Reunion” concluded, the producers — Bashar Rahal, Niki Iliev and Bogomil Grozev, from Silver Light Pictures, the studio behind the production — present the first trailer for the movie. Get ready for laughs, romance and dramatic upturns, all cooked up by Niki Iliev, Bashar Rahal, Alexander Kadiev, Dilyana Popova, Evelyn Kostova, Orlin Pavlov, Boyko Krastanov, Rayna Karayaneva and Iskra Donova. The story takes place in one of Bulgaria’s most beautiful cities – Plovdiv.
It’s exactly 25 years after the “Summer of ‘94,” the memorable month of Bulgaria’s participation at FIFA World Cup. Three friends (Boyko, Orlin and Sasho) return home from across the world to help a childhood friend save his native house. Alex (Niki Iliev) must persuade his cousin Branimir (Bashar Rahal) to respect the will of their grandfather (Stefan Danailov) by preserving the family home and not go ahead with a plan for an office building. The only way to pull the thing off is for the childhood friends to band together again and win the city marathon against Branimir’s professional team. This proves extremely difficult, and a string of ludicrous episodes and absurd hitches put a yearslong friendship to the test.
The characters return to their childhood, remembering their dreams, first loves, family values and true friendship. They end up realising that, regardless of shifts and elapsed time, some things never change.
Shooting lasted more than a month in early summer, mostly in Plovdiv. More than 500 walk-ons, police officers and athletes took part in a three-day triathlon: bicycling, running and rowing. Some of Plovdiv’s emblematic locations – the Old Town, Kapana and the Rowing Canal were the natural sets in this great city, where “each spot makes a frame.” The people of Plovdiv offered generous assistance to the movie team, opening their homes, shops, bistros and offices.
“The Reunion” is a declaration of love to Plovdiv and its residents.
Watch the trailer for a detailed look:
Distributed by bTV Studios, “The Reunion” will hit cinema screens nationwide in October.
