ISFFH Q & A with Director Tsvetan Naydenov

Tsvetan Naydenov won Best Foreign Language Experimental for his film “Choice” in the 2012 International Student Film Festival Hollywood (ISFFH) and we had the opportunity to have a Q & A interview with him recently and learn some more about him and where he got the inspiration for his film.

ISFFH: Tell us about yourself and what drives your creativity.

Tsvetan Naydenov: My friends call me Tsetso. I am 23 years old. Mainly, I define myself as a filmmaker (director, writer, cinematographer, editor) but I have many other interests and activities: theatre making (pantomime, physical theatre, acrobatics), eastern practices (martial arts, yoga, meditation), and I also do scouting, climbing, extreme hiking, and surviving.

What drives my creativity is the fact, that every day I learn new things which I share with others and they do the same with me and the cycle of knowledge is going forever, and I think the most important thing is to keep the cycle going and never stop even for a moment. We must never forget what Socrates used to say: “True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.”

ISFFH: Where do you find inspiration?

Tsvetan Naydenov: I find inspiration mostly in my family, my teachers and my friends. I don’t think the inspiration has anything to do with any material things, nor do you have to look for it; it’s just there… in our hearts. I love my family… I love my teachers… I love my friends. It’s always the word LOVE. I don’t think there can be any greater inspiration.

ISFFH: Who are your mentors?

Tsvetan Naydenov: Prof. Alexander Iliev PhD – theatre and film director, anthropologist, mime, clown, master in martial arts, sportsman and more. He is the best teacher I’ve had in my life so far and the two most important things I’ve learned from him are: “Life is too short to be just one thing.” and “You can’t buy time, so don’t waste it!”

Also, I have many mentors that I haven’t met in person but they definitely changed my life in a good way and I would like to mention some of them: Mr. Charles Chaplin, Mr. Bear Grylls, Mr. Kevin Sorbo, Mr. Akira Kurosawa, Mr. Steven Spielberg, Mr. George Lucas, Mr. Sylvester Stallone, Mr. Jackie Chan, Mr. Jet Li, His holiness Dalai Lama, and His holiness Buddha.

ISFFH: Tell us about your film and where you got the idea for it.

Tsvetan Naydenov: We wanted to do a film about the situation in the world now-a-days. To show it the way it is, with all the wars and killing and on the other side to give hope and a possibility of changing it. And we thought, there can’t be a better way than LOVE.

This film has two themes – Love and War. We combined them into one – Choice. It’s actually the same as it is in the eastern culture and philosophy – the principle of Yin & Yang. One is love and the other one is war. The choice is the line between them. It separates them and connects them at the same time. And it’s up to everybody to choose what they stand for. We stay for the idea about Love and Peace. And that’s why …we choose love. And you?…

ISFFH: Who is the audience you wrote the film for?

Tsvetan Naydenov: For those who LOVE to fight and for those who fight for LOVE… For those who bring the WAR and for those who try to stop it… We have all of these in ourselves. And it’s so simple. To Love… and nothing more; I guess this is where the CHOICE comes. Whether to do this or that!? And it’s up to everybody, so I think the audience should be EVERYBODY!

ISFFH: What message do you want people to take away after seeing your film?

Tsvetan Naydenov: Probably the best message would be one of my favorite quotes, by Mahatma Gandhi: “Where there is love, there is life.”

ISFFH: What do you consider the elements of a good film?

Tsvetan Naydenov: The elements are five: earth, water, fire, air and ether. All these elements relate to five elements in a good film: strong idea, quiet pauses, high-pressure actions, free minds and dedication to art.

ISFFH: What advice do you have for fellow student filmmakers?

Tsvetan Naydenov: Never stop exploring, Never stop loving, Never give up… Dedicate yourselves to the ART because “earth” without “art” is just “eh”, and nobody wants that.

Follow your dreams and be free!

ISFFH: What are your goals? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Tsvetan Naydenov: Traveling around the world, studying about different cultures and different ways of living and understanding life,  and trying to find a way to work up, cultivate and preserve the ART in all of its forms by making meaningful and worthwhile aspects of it.

I’d love to come to the USA and see the biggest film industry in the world; it’s probably every filmmaker’s dream. So, if I have this opportunity, I will gladly take my crew with me come and make films.

ISFFH: How can people follow your work?

Tsvetan Naydenov: This is the studio I work in – http://brothersinarts.org/ and I upload all my videos on YouTube, so this is a great place for following my work! My account name is: indiana4472. You can also find me on facebook – Tsvetan Naydenov and on skype under indiana4472

ISFFH: Any other questions that you would like to see asked of yourself or other filmmakers?

Tsvetan Naydenov: I’d like to ask if other filmmakers can write a short sentence for a solution of this problem: “How to make the world a better place?” The result is going to be unbelievably positive and there are going to be many solutions for this problem.

ISFFH: Any final words you want to share?

Tsvetan Naydenov: I would like to say THANK YOU to everybody who is part of the International Student Film Festival Hollywood because this experience is something that really helps young filmmakers in their future appearances. I want to say THANK YOU to the crew I worked with: (Simeon Simeonov, Alex Kalinov, Borisa Sarafova, Kalin Kalinov, Silvia Bozhidarova, Jessie Shelton, Izumi Ashizawa and Brownie Sibrian) and their great contribution to this film. Also, I want to say THANK YOU to my family, teachers, friends, and everybody I know and to the rest of the world as well.

Hollywood is the capital city of the entertainment world. The International Student Film Festival Hollywood is the only film festival that embraces all ages from around the world, offering students the unique opportunity to gain the recognition of film industry leaders creating career development opportunities in their home countries as well as the United States. The opportunities provided by the ISFFH not only benefit the students, but the world community by bringing together people of diverse cultures and differing viewpoints.

The International Student Film Festival Hollywood is now accepting submissions for its 11^th annual Film and Video Competition. The Festival will be held in the NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood, CA USA October 26 – 27, 2013. The competition is open to students of all ages and academic backgrounds. Submission deadline is August 15, 2013. More information and entry forms are available on the festival website www.isffhollywood.org. You can also find us on facebook www.facebook.com/ISFFHollywood.