After spending 3 months on the ground in Stolipinovo as part of a project, Ivaylo Nedyalkov together with Italian anthropologist Camila Salvatore made a film with residents in the neighbourhood, giving a very different perspective on life there. And it's different because none of us (probably reading this) have spent 3 months in Stolipinovo, a neighborhood that has the reputation of being the biggest ghetto in Europe. They ended up naming the film originally combining Hollywood and Stolipinovo. Why?!

 You are not a filmmaker but you have made a film - „Stolliwood“, which will have its premiere on June 14 at Odeon cinema, 1:00PM. What is the feeling? 
A feeling of freedom, no one has expectations of you and what will come out. This film wasn't made to tell a good or bad story, I never paid much attention to the picture, lighting or sound. For me the only important thing was people's reaction after watching this film.

 What does it take to make somebody be really honest to your camera? 
There's no way anyone can be absolutely honest on camera, I think each of us puts on social masks and changes them depending on where we are and who we are interacting with. In front of a camera most often we all show the best of us, that's why I'm often a footage thief - I mean I put the camera somewhere secretly to shoot without anyone knowing there's a camera there. As Shakespeare said life is theatre and we are the actors.

 How you get into a “ghetto” and make the people feel comfort with you? Moreover you are a foreigner to them. 
You have to be honest with them: who are you? what are you doing there? why do you care? You also need time for them to get to know you and start to trust you. You also need to be armed with humility and determination.

And yes! I grew up in my village with Gypsies and Turks for me they are part of my tribe, they are part of the Bulgarian people for me they are Ho-ra! They are no different from me!

Most people from Europe are attracted to Roma culture because it is in close contact with nature and all the emotions and actions censored by typical European culture are inherent to it. There is something primal about it that attracts us, I think it is a freedom we have forgotten about.

 And did you feel comfort with them? Is comfort an important ingredient for good filmmaking? 
As I said, I've lived with gypsies since I was a kid and yes - I feel fine with them, but this is not about Bulgarian Turks or gypsies, this is about  poor and rich ...

 What lessons does “Stolliwood” give us? 
If you give a flower or a child free access to sun, land, water, air and love, it will grow up free, carefree, clean and become strong, independent and most importantly uncontrollable!

The poorer and more desperate you are, the more easily controllable you are by the one who gives you what you need. When the country you live in doesn't give you free access to basic resources for your life, you as a person either begin to slowly and painfully die or if you find the strength you rise up and begin to fight and no longer care about right or wrong, survival is important to you (and your family)! From my personal experience, I think that in many of the small communities in Bulgaria, the gypsies live with dignity and in harmony with nature, I mean the gypsies from Kotel, Pet mogili or Ognyanovo. It all depends on the environment you grew up in.