Iliana Kitanova

The King of the Belgians is on a state visit in Istanbul when his country falls apart. He must return home at once to save his kingdom. But a solar storm causes airspace and communications to shut down. No planes. No phones. With the help of a British filmmaker and a troupe of Bulgarian folk singers, the King and his entourage manage to escape over the border. Incognito. Thus begins an odyssey across the Balkans during which the King discovers the real world - and himself.

Cold follows the intertwining lives of residents in a small border village in the Tran region during the late 20th century. The story unfolds across four episodes set in different periods: three winter stories following a group of villagers who meet at their local pub, and a final spring chapter. Spanning 1968 to 2000, the film traces the gradual depopulation of the village, culminating in its total abandonment.

In this earnest movie from Bulgaria, the minds of the young people attending a Young Pioneer (communist youth) camp in the 1950s are shown to be easily molded into a conformist vein. Later, at a "voluntary labor" camp in the 1960s, the final touches are put on their education as proper young communists.

Cold follows the intertwining lives of residents in a small border village in the Tran region during the late 20th century. The story unfolds across four episodes set in different periods: three winter stories following a group of villagers who meet at their local pub, and a final spring chapter. Spanning 1968 to 2000, the film traces the gradual depopulation of the village, culminating in its total abandonment.