A 16-old girl runs away from a dangerous man and gets into a faraway village near the border. Soon she finds out the only inhabitants there – nine old men and women – make their living by growing marijuana and the village is actually an illegal plantation belonging to the man she is running away from. Despite everything, she decides to stay to give birth to the child she is carrying. In the silence of the deserted village she has the chance to search for herself and find the love that will conquer fear. Fear is multifaceted: She is afraid of her past, which both frightens and attracts her. She fears the present, which suffocates her and gives her wings. She is also afraid of the future, which projects her nightmares and dreams. This is a film about the only ticket against fear – love.
Awards
The so called “beginning of independent Bulgarian cinema” – “Mila from Mars” was a no-budget film, but ended up with selection at many festivals and was Bulgaria’s submission to the 77th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.
The film is distributed in Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia by Art Servis Sarajevo.
“Mila from Mars” won the Heart of Sarajevo International Film Festival for Best Film and the Special Jury Prize for the ensemble cast at the same festival. It won two awards at Mannheim-Heildelberg IFF – Ecumennical Jury Prize nad Reiner Werner Fassbinder Prize for unconventionally narrated film. The film won total of 16 awards and was a national box office hit.
Festival selections include Mar del Plata IFF, IFFI Goa, Warsaw IFF, New Directors/ New films in Nu York, Palm Springs IFF, Wiesbaden IFF Go East, Goteborg IFF, Busan IFF, Thessaloniki IFF, Haifa IFF, Sao Paolo IFF, Triest IFF, Istambul IFF.
