The Peach Thief

During World War I, in the city of Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria, an old colonel (Mikhail Mikhaylov) runs a prison camp. He grows peaches, which he keeps in an enclosure surrounded by barbed wire. Ivo (Rade Markovic), a Serbian officer, is one of the prisoners. Hungry, he takes the risk of stealing the colonel's fruit and is caught by his young wife Lisa (Nevena Kokanova). Little by little, a forbidden love blossoms.

Information about the film's rights and desired prospects
Film representative: Rosen Spasov (Bulgarian National Film Archive)
Rights holders: Maria Palaurova-Cholakova
Information on current agreements: 
- Type: Online video platform
- Structure: ArteKino Classics
- Duration of authorization (start and end dates): 15 Septembre - 31 Decembre 2025
-Territories: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark (including enclosed territories and sovereign territories), Estonia, Finland, France (including enclosed territories and sovereign territories), Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy (including enclosed territories and sovereign territories), Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, Portugal (including enclosed territories and sovereign territories), Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (including enclosed territories and sovereign territories), Czech Republic, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, United Kingdom (including enclosed territories and sovereign territories), Belarus, Cyprus
Priority needs for the film: international sales, new contacts, theatrical distribution, video publishing, distribution, 

Vulo Radev was born in 1923 in Lesidren, northern Bulgaria. He studied cinematography at the Moscow Film Institute, graduating in 1953. He first worked as a cinematographer on documentary films, then on feature films such as Tobacco (1962), directed by Nikola Korabov and presented in the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival. Vulo Radev moved on to directing with The Peach Thief, which paved the way for poetic realism in Bulgarian cinema.

The film is adapted from a short story by Emilian Stanev, published in 1948, which recounts the tragic romance between two lovers caught up in the turmoil of World War I. Vulo Radev faithfully transposes this story to the screen and sensitively traces the birth of a love between two people separated by conflict, who must live their relationship in the utmost secrecy. The filmmaker delicately films their clandestine encounters. He plays on the closeness of faces within the frame, suggesting the rise of desire through the rustling of the wind shaking the branches. He also knows how to convey the sleepy atmosphere of a garrison town, where the calm of the orchards and the beauty of the landscapes contrast with the dust on the roads and the distress experienced by prisoners lacking food.
With its meticulous photography, vibrant performances, and judicious use of natural settings, The Peach Thief marks a turning point in Bulgarian cinema, which is just beginning to gain international recognition.

"Beneath its very classic appearance, particularly in terms of its narrative style, which is very polished, The Peach Thief ultimately concealed a fairly complete revolution. The film refined the way we look at history, at the people that history creates and who create history. Certain elements (the wind, the fruit, a beautiful wooden house, the setting of a provincial town overlooking a valley) were in keeping with the best traditions, but the perspective was strikingly new. (Albert Cervoni, Les Écrans de Sofia, voyage français dans le cinéma bulgare, Filméditions, 1976)