Gambit

After her new lover, Fillip, inadvertently reveals some of the weaknesses in the security system of Rotterdam's Kunsthal, Nina proposes to her petty criminal ex, Alex, to rob the famed museum. Everyone's troubles begin, however, when Alex and his cohorts manage to make away with six masterpieces worth over fifty million euros.

Director's note:

The initial spark for Gambit came from a New York Times article about a band of ragtag criminals who in 2012 stole eight masterpieces worth over 70 million euros from Rotterdam's Kunsthal. The stolen paintings were never recovered and were purportedly burned by the mother of the gang leader in an attempt to destroy evidence. Rather than following the traditional "whodunnit" framework of the genre, I decided to centre the story around a young female protagonist, Nina, and, through her actions to examine the larger themes of trust and value. Nina begins her journey as a highly mistrustful person and ends risking her freedom by placing her trust in the hands of her idealistic lover, Fillip. The film also aims to examine how we attribute value to art, personal freedom, family, and friendship.

Gambit will be a tense crime drama with elements of thriller aimed at broader audiences that balance a forward plot motion with complex characters development.

Director's bio:

Konstantin Bojanov is a writer, director, and visual artist, who holds a B.A. from the National School of Fine Arts in Sofia and an M.A. from the Royal College of Art, London. His work has been exhibited in numerous prominent art galleries and museums, and his films have been screened at over 100 international film festivals.
Bojanov’s directorial debut, Lemon Is Lemon (2001), won numerous awards, followed by the documentary Invisible (2005). Bojanov's first feature film, Ave (2011), premiered in the Critics' Week in Cannes and screened at over 70 international film festivals, winning 20 prestigious awards. His second feature, Light Thereafter (2017), premiered in competition at the IFF Rotterdam. Bojanov is currently in pre-production on his third feature film, The Shameless.

Producer's bio:

After graduating in law and filmmaking, in 2013, Katya Trichkova founded Contrast Films, a production company whose main objective is to develop and produce fiction and documentaries. Since 2011, she works very closely with the Bulgarian director and producer Stephan Komandarev as well as an independent producer for other Bulgarian production companies.

Her recent filmography includes Silent Legacy (2021) by Petya Nakova, Rounds by Stephan Komandarev (2019, Sarajevo FF), Directions by Stephan Komandarev (2017, Un Certain Regard, Festival de Cannes), Caini by Bogdan Mirica (2016, FIPRESCI Prize, Un Certain Regard, Festival de Cannes) .

Katya is an EAVE and EURODOC graduate and participant of Sarajevo Talent Campus, Kyoto Filmmakers Lab, and ExOriente Programme.

Company profile:

Contrast Films is a production company established by Katya Trichkova in Sofia, Bulgaria, with the main goal to develop and produce author-driven fiction and documentary films for national and international markets and audiences. The company’s credits include the documentary films Silent Legacy by Petya Nakova (2021, co-production with HBO Europe, broadcasted in 23 countries, official selection Biografilm IFF (Italy), Flahertiana IFF (Russia)), Ikarus from Kocherinovo by Emil Spahiyski (2019; Best Documentary Debut at Golden Rhyton Festival of Bulgarian Documentary and Animated Film) and a number of co-productions such as Stephan Komandarev’s award-winning feature films Directions (2017; Un Certain Regard at Cannes, Toronto) and Rounds (2019; Stockholm, Sarajevo, Gijon, GoEast).