Railway dispatcher Gosha and maternity nurse Marina discover that recovering their stolen savings may demand compromises even they never imagined making. A Coen brothers-worthy premise collides with contemporary Bulgaria in this deliciously morally grey tragicomedy.

2026
Black Money for White Nights
Black Money for White Nights
Australian Premiere.
Director
Runtime
94 Minutes
Country
Bulgaria, Greece
Classification
Unclassified 15+
Black and white exist only in the title of this deliciously morally grey Bulgarian tragicomedy. Railway dispatcher Gosha (Ivan Savov) and maternity nurse Marina (Tanya Shahova) have spent decades quietly supplementing their modest incomes through ‘small’ acts of corruption, saving every ‘lev’ for the retirement trip of a lifetime to St Petersburg. When a travel scam wipes out their nest egg in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, their dream holiday gives way to a desperate chain of lies, bad luck and increasingly impossible choices. Beginning with a premise worthy of the Coen brothers, the film unfolds as both a sharply observed portrait of contemporary Bulgaria and a compassionate reflection on the quiet moral compromises that shape ordinary lives.
“Contemporary Eastern European cinema at its best."
FilmInk
Karlovy Vary
Film Credits
Director
Kristina Grozeva & Petar Valchanov
Year
2026
Country
Bulgaria & Greece
Language
Bulgarian
Subtitles
English
Type
Feature Fiction
Program Strand
World Cinema
Producer
Konstantina Stavrianou, Irini Vougioukalou & Kristina Grozeva & Petar Valchanov
Writer
Kristina Grozeva & Petar Valchanov & Decho Taralezhkov
Cinematographer
Alexander Stanishev
Editor
Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Cast
Ivan Savov, Margita Gosheva & Tanya Shahova
Music
Theodoris Oikonomou
Film Source
Cercamon
Genre
Black Comedy, Drama, Politics & Road Movie
