On 21.09.2023 at 20:30 at the Roman Stadium will be held the official premiere of the documentary "Romeo and Juliet under the hills", telling the story of the actor from the Drama Theatre - Plovdiv Simeon Alexiev and his great love Irene Alexieva - assistant director at the theater. The documentary is the work of the creative team: director and screenwriter - Petya Angelova, cinematographer - Anton Marchev, photographer - Georgi Vachev, editor - Emil Ivanov, music: Michael Lamb. The project is funded by Plovdiv Municipality under K4 "Civic Activity" and is part of the Cultural Calendar of the city. 

Entrance is free!

About the film:

Actor Simeon Alexiev and his great (last) love Irene Alexieva - assistant director, talk, laugh through tears and have fun, surprised by colleagues and friends in their home - Drama Theatre Plovdiv. The story of Romeo and Juliet under the hills, who missed the tragedy and reached their 70s and 60s together.     

"When the curtain slowly rose, I felt like I was going to faint. In fact, the curtain of my life was being lifted." Sarah Bernard

The film Romeo and Juliet under the hills follows the story of two interesting, colourful personalities who are directly linked to the creation of culture in Bulgaria and more specifically in Plovdiv. One is the actor beloved by generations of viewers - Simeon Alexiev. He graduated from NATFA "Krystyu Sarafov" in 1979 in the class of prof. In the same year he joined the Plovdiv Theatre. He has played more than 90 roles and has won the Plovdiv Award. In 2022, when he turned 70, he received a special award "Ikar" for lifetime contribution "For Honor and Dignity". As he likes to say, he has three wives, three children and three heart attacks.

The other personality is Irene Alexieva - she grew up in the artistic house of the Lolovs, her ancestors Zhelyazko Lolov and his wife were the founders of the first professional theatre in Bulgaria-Dramatic Theatre Plovdiv, where she has been an assistant director for 40 years. In 2022, she received the Ikar Award for master-technical service with the performance "Silk", selected for the Theatre Olympiad in Budapest 2023, which is the first time with a Bulgarian performance. With "Ulysses" he won the grand prize at the ancient drama festival in Veles * Macedonia.

What binds Simo and Irene is their great love for theatre and their love for each other. The film follows their story together and separately, including scenes that complement each other in film time with the stories of their friends and colleagues. Krastyo Krastev - Minister of Culture, Marius Kurkinski - actor and director, Krasimir Rankov - actor and director, Konstantin Elenkov - actor, Ivaylo Hristov - actor, Todor Durlyanov - actor, Margita Gosheva - actress, Peter Batakliev - Bulgarian and Canadian actor and director.  

The film traces the journey of faith and love for each other and the common love of theatre through time, through the emotional memory of two people and their close eyewitnesses. It presents stories not shared in the public sphere.

The double anniversary that marks the artistic family of Simeon and Irene Alexiev, she at 60, he at 70, is the occasion for which the film Romeo and Juliet Under the Hills is being made right now.

The last three films directed by Petya Angelova:

 "Wine of Dandelions (2017) 29 min., director, writer and producer. Director of Photography.    

"The Voice of the Heart" (2020) 39 min. Borislav Vassilev / Music;                                                

 "Maestro Micho Dimitrov - Flight of the Senses" (2023) 27 min., Director and Scriptwriter / Cinematographer: Borislav Vassilev

Awards:

North Beach American Film Festival, USA, First Prize for Best Experimental Film for "Dandelion Wine" inspired by Ray Bradbury's book of the same name.