"The themes of simulation, expectation and observation were developed in anironic but painful manner in the two-channel installation entitled A Movie (2004) by Krassimir Terziev. He conducts a fake casting session for lm extras for a big production at the film centre in Boyana, Sofia. Dressed in suits, the applicants for the film extra job wait to be called up for the casting session, which never happens. The moment of expectation is captured by the artist’s camera, which in fact creates a real film during the time in which the film is “not being shot” and the actors are “not acting”."
Boryana Rossa, "Entertainment, Propaganda, Experiment:The Technological and Social Foundations of Creative WorkUsing Video Technology", in: Edit András (ed), Transitland. Video art from central and eastern europe 1989–2009, Ludwig Museum—Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest, 2009
A Movie is a situational film production. The stage is a film set, built in Boyana Film Studios (the main infrastructure facility of the film industry in Bulgaria) by a film production in the past.
A group of 50 extras are dressed with stage costumes from the specialized wardrobe of Boyana (a collection of period costumes left from film productions since 1950's).
At 10 a.m. the group is led to the film set and left there to wait for further instructions and an “action” signal. Such a moment never comes. Three cameras from different angles follow the behaviour of the people. This process goes on for 5 hours. Then the group is dismissed without further explanation. A Movie shows this sequence of time, while all the extras are waiting and do nothing, but only wander around on the edge between fiction and reality.
Credits:
Project: Krassimir Terziev
Production consultants: Georgi Bogdanov, Boris Missirkov, David Ieroham, Julia Robova
Camera: Georgi Bogdanov, Boris Missirkov, Jelko Terziev
Assistent director: Denitsa Daverova
Costume Designer: Sandra Klincheva
Photography: Bogdan Penev
Produced in the frameworks of Visual Seminar.
Post-production: interSpace Media Art Centre, Sofia
With the kind support of: Boyana Film Studios, Metro Media
Special thanks to: Ani & Marieta, Edmond Demirdjian, Jelko Terziev, Maria Vassileva, Nedko Solakov, Viktor Bojinov,