STOP THE CAR

Short Talk with Igor Hristov (director) and Nevena Semova (producer)

BEST SHORT FICTION FILM Category

22nd IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival 2025

Bulgaria, Fiction, 19:00, 2025

Synopsis: Two brothers, Deyan and Boyan, in search of easy money, steal a car from a roadside parking lot along the highway. They soon discover a sleeping child inside, and realize the car belongs to professional kidnappers. Boyan panics and urges his brother to stop, while the more cunning Deyan suggests using the situation to make a lot of money from the child. Boyan refuses and after a struggle the car veers off the road and gets stuck in a snow pile. The kidnappers catch up with the brothers and a fight starts. Boyan prevails and rescues the child, who finds comfort in his arms as the sound of approaching police sirens echoes in the distance.

Biography: Igor Hristov is a director and screenwriter from North Macedonia, who studied directing at NATFA in Bulgaria. He has made several short films and documentaries, including Dandelion, Ocean Child, and March (shot on 35mm), screened at festivals in Sarajevo, Kustendorf, Sofia, Monterrey, and Sichuan. His most recent project, This Is Her Story—a documentary omnibus about women in extreme sports—won five awards and was selected at festivals in Torelló, Barcelona, Ona, and Bansko.

Igor Hristov, director

Petar Penev: Your two main characters are brothers, and they’re played by two real-life brothers, the well-known Bulgarian actors Tigran and Ovanes Torosyan. Was it your intention from the very beginning to cast two brothers, or did that happen more spontaneously?

Igor Hristov: Thank you for the question. I’ve known the younger brother, Ovanes, since my early days at the National Academy, he was the first person I thought of for the role. I didn’t know Tigran at that time. Later, while working as an assistant director on a TV series, I met Tigran on set. When I saw him, I thought, “I know you.” And he said, “Maybe because I look like my brother, you probably know Ovanes.” That’s when the idea came instantly: cast both brothers, real brothers, to play brothers in the film. It felt like an experiment for me as a director, but it worked perfectly.

Petar Penev: It definitely paid off. Now, although we didn’t see it in the trailer, there’s also a key role played by a child. Considering the film contains some violent and vulgar moments, how did you approach working with a child on set? Did you shield her from certain things, or did she know everything that was going on?

Igor Hristov: I love working with children. From my very first student short films, I’ve often cast them. My approach is to work with kids who are a bit older, seven or eight years old, because it’s easier for them to follow instructions. Our actress here, Anika Alexandrova, was amazing. She was only on set for one day, and it was a night shoot in winter, outdoors, which is very hard. But she gave me exactly what I needed, and when I saw her performance in the edit, I was extremely happy.

Nevena Semova: From a production perspective, shooting with a child in winter presented a challenge, especially with the story taking place at night. There are legal time restrictions for underage actors, so we decided to film all the car interiors using virtual production. That’s not very common for Bulgarian short films, but it allowed us to control the environment, shoot during the day, and ensure Anika’s safety and comfort, while still capturing the emotional tone of those scenes.

Petar Penev: That’s interesting, because I was going to ask about the technical side, shooting in a moving car at night, in winter, is already difficult, and on a low budget it can be even more so. It’s great to hear it went smoothly. Since the Torosyan brothers are known to be fun to have on set, what would you say was the funniest moment during filming?

Igor Hristov: Honestly, I didn’t have any funny moments, I had dramatic ones! We filmed on the coldest days of the year, around minus 15°C, over three days. I didn’t really have time for fun.

Nevena Semova: I had fun! For me, it was rewarding to work on a short film with the scope of a feature, stunts, car chases, fight scenes, SFX, snow, and virtual production. Pulling all of that off in Bulgaria with the government funding we received was exciting. And yes, there were funny moments too. But my happiest moment was yesterday, when the whole crew came together. Special thanks to our DOP and co-producer Aleksandar Krumov, and to our editor, who locked the cut in just a few weeks, we shot in May, and by June we were here at the festival. That’s incredibly fast post-production, and I’m so proud of the team.

Interviewer: Petar Penev

Editor: Martin Kudlac