We Were Young
Encyclopedia
We Were Young is a 1961
Bulgaria
n drama film
directed by Binka Zhelyazkova
and written by Hristo Ganev. The film is centres on the Bulgarian resistance to Nazism
in Sofia
during the Second World War.
operating in Sofia
. Veska and Dimo are central characters. Their love affair ends because they are apprehended by the police and jailed. Veska is tortured to death and Dimo is burnt alive cruelly. The little photographer girl, Tzveteto, also meets with a violent death, as do all other members of the group. Soon afterwards another group of courageous youth is being formed. Some of them will perhaps not live to enjoy their youth.
. The film premiered in Russia
in July 1962 at the Moscow International Film Festival
and won the Golden Prize (1959–1967) for director Binka Zhelyazkova
. Zhelyazkova was also nominated as director of best picture at the Grand Prix Film Festival in 1961
.
.
1961 in film
The year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Binka Zhelyazkova
Binka Zhelyazkova
Binka Zhelyazkova , was a Bulgarian film director who made films between the late 1950s and the 1990s. She was the first Bulgarian woman to direct a feature film and one of the few women worldwide to direct feature films in the 1950s.Zhelyazkova graduated from the Sofia Theatre Institute in 1956...
and written by Hristo Ganev. The film is centres on the Bulgarian resistance to Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
during the Second World War.
Plot
Based in the days of the Bulgarian Resistance during Second World War the film deals with a young anti-fascist underground group combatCombat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
operating in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
. Veska and Dimo are central characters. Their love affair ends because they are apprehended by the police and jailed. Veska is tortured to death and Dimo is burnt alive cruelly. The little photographer girl, Tzveteto, also meets with a violent death, as do all other members of the group. Soon afterwards another group of courageous youth is being formed. Some of them will perhaps not live to enjoy their youth.
Release and acclaim
The film premiered on 13 March 1961 in BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. The film premiered in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in July 1962 at the Moscow International Film Festival
Moscow International Film Festival
Moscow International Film Festival , is the film festival first held in Moscow in 1959. From its inception to 1995 it was held every second year in July, alternating with the Karlovy Vary festival. The festival has been held annually since 1995....
and won the Golden Prize (1959–1967) for director Binka Zhelyazkova
Binka Zhelyazkova
Binka Zhelyazkova , was a Bulgarian film director who made films between the late 1950s and the 1990s. She was the first Bulgarian woman to direct a feature film and one of the few women worldwide to direct feature films in the 1950s.Zhelyazkova graduated from the Sofia Theatre Institute in 1956...
. Zhelyazkova was also nominated as director of best picture at the Grand Prix Film Festival in 1961
1961 in film
The year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
.
Box office success
A reported 2,303,354 admissions were recorded for the film in cinemas throughout BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
.
Cast
- Dimitar BuynozovDimitar BuynozovDimitar Buynozov was a Bulgarian actor. He appeared in 13 films between 1957 and 1991.-External links:...
as Dimo - Rumyana Karabelova as Veska
- Lyudmila Cheshmedzhieva as Tzveta
- Georgi Georgiev-GetzGeorgi Georgiev-GetzGeorgi Ivanov Georgiev, best known as Georgi Georgiev-Getz , was a Bulgarian actor. He was born on 4 October 1926 in the village of Razpopovtsi, now a district of the town of Elena. Plays in the Ivan Vazov National Theatre all the time since 1953 up to his death...
as Mladen - Emilia Radeva as Nadya
- Anani Yavashev as Slavcho
- Georgi Naumov
- Ivan Trifonov
- Dimitar PanovDimitar Panov-Biography and Career:Panov was born on July 18, 1902 in the town of Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. He made his debut in 1955 on the stage of the Plovdiv Theater in the Chehov's play Five Small Comedies...
- Ivan Bratanov
- Dora Stoyanova