“We shall do our best to be the Bulgarian nomination for an Oscar for a foreign language film,” said Stephan Komandarev, director of Blaga’s Lessons, which won the Crystal Globe Grand Prix at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. “That is up to the jury of the Bulgarian National Film Centre. We shall do our best to present the film wherever we can,” he said.

• Bulgarian film "Blaga's Lessons " won the Grand Prix at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival

“To be successful at the Academy Awards you have to have a very good film, but also lots of money for a campaign – money for American publicists and for streaming platforms. I know that because I have been a Bulgarian nomination twice. A screening costs USD 10,000,” Stephan Konamdarev said for BGNES news agency.

The film touches audiences because the stories about the Bulgarian pensioners are understandable wherever you may be. These are things that are not just Bulgarian, they can happen anywhere, Stephan Komandarev said.