IN THE HEART OF THE MACHINE
Special Features: 2023 Oscar® Selection, Bulgaria
[V SŬRTSETO NA MASHINATA] [В СЪРЦЕТО НА МАШИНАТА]
Based on a true story, Bulgarian director Martin Makariev's award-winning Best International Feature Oscar® submission starts as a gritty prison drama, enters thriller territory and gradually becomes a thought-provoking meditation on humanity and survival. Set in 1978 at the height of the communist rule in Bulgaria, the film takes place within the walls of Kremikovtsi Steel Plant, where a ragtag group of maximum-security inmates has been recruited to help double production. Led by political prisoner Bohemy (Alexander Sano, TV's THE BUREAU) and overseen by sadistic prison guard Captain Vekilsky (Julian Vergov, GERMAN LESSONS), the group's progress is stalled when a bird becomes trapped inside one of the machines and its operator — the much-feared inmate "The Hatchet" (Igor Angelov) — refuses to work until it is freed. As the crisis escalates, a hostage situation unfolds, and the prisoners find themselves cornered inside the factory, determined to free themselves along with the trapped bird while the authorities close in around them. Winner, Best Picture and Best Screenplay, 2021 Golden Rose Bulgarian Feature Film Festival Awards. Winner, Best Bulgarian Feature Film, 2022 Sofia International Film Festival. DIR/SCR/PROD Martin Makariev; SCR Boby Zahariev; PROD Alexander Penev, Alexander Sano. Bulgaria, 2021, color, 115 min. In Bulgarian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Run Time: 115 Minutes
Opening Date: Monday, December 12, 2022
Genre: Historical drama, thriller
