Mahala Special Screenings | Svezhen School

Since our very first day at the corner, among all else, Mahala has been a scene for Bulgarian artists. 
Our event calendar for 2025 begins with Elena Stoycheva, a film director. Since 2021 Elena has been following the story of a school in Svezhen village in series of short documentaries. 
Come by next Friday for a special screening of two of the shorts - her latest work "Svezhen School", and the short "The School is not for sale!", which was part of the Venice Architecture Biennale two years ago. 

10.01, Friday, 19:30

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"The school is not for sale!" 
12 min., 2023

In a depopulated village, the mayor wants to sell the school building, a cultural monument and symbol of the community. To save the school, a young family gathers like-minded people and stops the sale. But the difficulties of restoring the building are yet to come.

"Svezhen School - How will we save it?" 
20 min., 2024

After the sale of the school in the village of Svezhen was stopped, the process of reviving it turned out to be slow and complicated. The mayor's administration changes, but remains passive. Still, there is hope: the topic of abandoned rural schools becomes known through an exhibition in Venice, and Christina sets off to look for like-minded people and specialists.