Writing
Vanya Rainova
Known for
Writing
Credits
10 titles
Vanya Rainova is an award-winning writer and producer who is a managing partner at Portokal. She produced and co-wrote the short film Pride (2013), which won the Grand Prix at Clermont Ferrand and is EFA-nominated, among many other recognitions and awards. Vanya is also a co-author of the award-wining creative documentary The Last Black Sea Pirates (2013). Before walking into the world of filmmaking, Vanya published multiple short fiction and feature stories in magazines and anthologies in Europe and the United States. Vanya has a master's in creative writing from the University of San Francisco and a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ithaca College.
Known for
A hermit lives in voluntary exile from civilisation, attuned to the ebbs and flows of nature. In the sleepy town beneath his cabin, a young, ambitious policeman is being groomed to uphold the status quo after the retirement of his corrupt chief. When a shady local strongman's plans to legitimise his grip on the town are obstructed by the hermit's defence of the natural environment, the conflict between the two slowly simmers to a boil beneath the howl of the malfunctioning sirens of the town's Early Warning System.
Resonance
2026
6.0In the slow, sticky summer of late-90s Eastern Europe, twelve-year-old Ro sets out to procure a pirated copy of Eraserhead by David Lynch. Her journey—through crumbling friendships, stolen cigarettes, and VHS-era power games—unfolds in a world where childhood slips quietly into something else, and cinema becomes the only available glimpse of escape.
Eraserhead in a Knitted Shopping Bag
2025
No synopsis available yet.
The Life We Never Had
—
NRMother and son move into a new house, a new city, a new story.
Setembro
2016
NRSingle mother Dafina becomes involved in an illegal surrogate baby delivery scheme. When a screening reveals that the babies are at risk of genetic disorder, the childless couple cancels the deal. Under pressure from the gynecologist to have an abortion, Dafina struggles to make the right choice.
Mother
2019
NRSmart, angry, self-reliant Dida will stop at nothing to achieve a single tangible goal – to buy a plane ticket so she can join her estranged mother in the United States.
Dyad
2023
Behind the camera
A hermit lives in voluntary exile from civilisation, attuned to the ebbs and flows of nature. In the sleepy town beneath his cabin, a young, ambitious policeman is being groomed to uphold the status quo after the retirement of his corrupt chief. When a shady local strongman's plans to legitimise his grip on the town are obstructed by the hermit's defence of the natural environment, the conflict between the two slowly simmers to a boil beneath the howl of the malfunctioning sirens of the town's Early Warning System.
Resonance
2026
6.0In the slow, sticky summer of late-90s Eastern Europe, twelve-year-old Ro sets out to procure a pirated copy of Eraserhead by David Lynch. Her journey—through crumbling friendships, stolen cigarettes, and VHS-era power games—unfolds in a world where childhood slips quietly into something else, and cinema becomes the only available glimpse of escape.
Eraserhead in a Knitted Shopping Bag
2025
No synopsis available yet.
The Life We Never Had
—
NRMother and son move into a new house, a new city, a new story.
Setembro
2016
NRSingle mother Dafina becomes involved in an illegal surrogate baby delivery scheme. When a screening reveals that the babies are at risk of genetic disorder, the childless couple cancels the deal. Under pressure from the gynecologist to have an abortion, Dafina struggles to make the right choice.
Mother
2019
NRSingle mother Dafina becomes involved in an illegal surrogate baby delivery scheme. When a screening reveals that the babies are at risk of genetic disorder, the childless couple cancels the deal. Under pressure from the gynecologist to have an abortion, Dafina struggles to make the right choice.
Mother
2019
NRSmart, angry, self-reliant Dida will stop at nothing to achieve a single tangible goal – to buy a plane ticket so she can join her estranged mother in the United States.
Dyad
2023
4.2This is a modern pirate story complete with a captain, a mutinous crew of outlaws, a princess, her wedding dress and untold riches. Only one thing is missing: the ship. According to legend, Vulchan, a 19th-century gypsy pirate, attacked three convoys laden with gold. He robbed them, sunk them and hid his treasure by the coast. Fast forward to present day. Captain Jack, an ex-con himself, leads a motley bunch of homeless outcasts—alcoholics and petty criminals—in a search for the hidden loot. But their hopes of riches and glory are threatened when the brother of the Bulgarian Prime Minister announces plans to build a new mega tourist resort by the Black Sea.
The Last Black Sea Pirates
2013
3.6Manol — a retired general and a loving grandfather — is a patriarch of firm morals and fixed beliefs, which he has upheld in his household. But on this day, he learns that the boy he raised is gay. The life choices of his loved ones challenge his values in a battle he has lost by default.
Pride
2013
3.6Manol — a retired general and a loving grandfather — is a patriarch of firm morals and fixed beliefs, which he has upheld in his household. But on this day, he learns that the boy he raised is gay. The life choices of his loved ones challenge his values in a battle he has lost by default.
Pride
2013
