Ivet Ivanova is a young Bulgarian director and actress. Her filmography includes films such as Zapetaya (2023, official selection of the Golden Rose Festival) and God, Where Are You? (2024). „Outrage!“ (2025) is her third short film supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the EU and will premiere at Sofia Short Fest!
Your short film „Outrage!“, which will have its premiere on 14 June at Odeon cinema, starting 20:45h, offers an ironic take on some of the most pressing issues in contemporary society. Do you believe sarcasm is a more effective way to address these than, say, a more “serious” dramatic approach?
The word “sarcasm” literally means “tearing of flesh” in Greek. I avoid people who use the tools of sarcasm; they are snarky and querulous, often caustic. I don’t use sarcasm, neither in life nor in my work. I find it haughty, malicious, hurtful and even destructive.I personally prefer irony or gentle mockery if humor is necessary and there's no other way to handle a situation.
It's often said that comedy is the hardest genre in cinema. Do you agree, and if so, why?
Absolutely. True comedians are people of empathy and compassion. They approach their work seriously, with love and care. They have the courage to seek the truth, to embrace people as they are with open hearts, and through their talent, they try to eliminate the flaws they perceive in society, to make life a little happier, more beautiful, and more meaningful for the individual.
You’re both the director and the lead actress in Outrage!, which is rare. What are the advantages and challenges of such a dual role?
Acting and directing are completely different professions. While you're acting and in front of the camera, you're not the director - you can't be two people at once, at least not in my opinion. It’s very important for me to have an assistant director who can substitute for me when I’m in front of the camera and I can’t be behind it. I’ve learned this from colleagues. Ideally, the assistant director should be someone I’ve chosen myself, someone who sees the film through my personal lens, understands what the scene is striving for, and can adjust the actors if we drift off course. Trust in the team is essential: after all, it’s my team and our film, which means we all want what’s best for the project and work together as a whole. That’s the only way things will succeed.
Did you choose Hristo Hristov’s script, or did it, as they say, choose you? Do you have to be personally invested in a film’s theme to direct it successfully?
I was invited to direct and act in Outrage! by the screenwriter Hristo Hristov and the producer Hristo Dermendzhiev, so in this case, the script found me. I have to be emotionally engaged with a film’s subject to even think about shooting it... If a topic doesn’t ignite something in me, if I’m not burning for it, I wouldn’t even start the project - how would I have the fuel to finish it? The crew needs to be inspired too.
Jokes aside, at this point in my life and career, I need to feel like I can’t go on living unless I make a certain film - that’s when I know I should begin. I believe that kind of energy attracts the right people to the project
In addition to being a kind of portrait of Bulgarian society, the film offers a compelling look into the Bulgarian education system. Can cinema help society become more aware of certain issues and perhaps begin to solve them? Should cinema take on pressing problems, or is that more the job of journalism and politics?
That’s a complex and ambitious question. If I were to answer immediately, I’d probably be quoting colleagues with more life and professional experience than I have - and maybe it's better to hear their words from them directly, right? I think the same goes for storytelling through cinema. No matter how global a question might be, to be truthful and honest in your art, you have to talk about and film things that have genuinely passed through your own heart and life.
What I’m trying to say is this: I can’t write about world peace if there’s war inside my soul. I can’t tell stories about love and light if I’m filled with hate, anger, and bitterness. Likewise, my imagination isn’t going to come up with conflict-driven plots if I’m in love and happy.
You have to be sincere and write what’s in your heart - because when you’re connected and honest with yourself, your art will guide both you and others to where they need to go. Everything else is a lie, and the audience won’t believe it. Inspiration in art chases the truth - true love, genuine hatred, and so on.
What is your message to the young filmmakers?
Never sacrifice anything from your personal life for any profession - whether it’s in cinema or elsewhere.
