In 2015 Bulgaria marks the 70^th birth anniversary of great Bulgarian actress Katya Paskaleva. Her star rose in one of the best Bulgarian movies of all time, The Goat’s Horn. She starred in more than twenty films, and has played dozens of theatre parts. The actress died at 56. Her 70^th birth anniversary is marked with a documentary about her life. On 26 November Katya Paskaleva, the Last Part will be premiered at Lumiere movie theatre in Sofia. On the same night, an exhibition with her works of art will open at the National Palace of Culture. On 5 December is the premiere of the documentary album devoted to Katya Paskaleva and compiled by journalist Georgi Toshev. He is author and producer of the project. The album features 22 art pieces by the great actress.

„I showed some of the pieces to fine art experts and they were quite surprised by her talent”, Georgi Toshev tells us. “This is an unknown Katya Paskaleva. I think that we are likely to rediscover some of her unknown features. The exhibition is called I, Katya. During her lifetime no one accepted her as an artist. But Katya wherever she is now, will for sure smile at us and will be happy that someone dared get into her as she put it ‘crushed self-esteem’ and violate the big silence about her talent as a painter. And so, we dared show her art that is exceptional, and we started with her self-portrait.”

The exhibition will also feature 12 portrait photographs, and some of them will be shown for the first time. They have been provided by courtesy of the Bulgarian National Film Library and the State Archives. Three portraits of Katya Paskaleva painted by the great painter Zlatyu Boyadzhiev will be included in the display by courtesy of collector Boyan Radev. Boyadzhiev painted Katya in the 1960s. These works testify to her magic charm as an actress and as a young woman.

„Katya Paskaleva was not only an actress; she also wrote amazing texts and did a good deal of painting. She was an emanation of an artiste”, film director Emma Konstantinova says. “This film is not a monument; it does not necessarily reveal a polished, flawless picture of the ideal actress. In it she is also portrayed with her dark side and dramas – in the entire wealth of her incredible personality. Also, Katya is presented in the context of her time and this approach is key in explaining her inner dramas. She was troubled by doubts and insecurity, while at the same time was extremely popular, and was already an icon during her lifetime for the enormity of her acting talent and professional merits”.

English version: Daniela Konstantinova