The Film "The Tobacco City"


“The idea for the documentary “Stories from the Tobacco City” arose from a merge between my interest in old civil architecture in Plovdiv and memories I kept from my school years such as walking down the “Ivan Vazov” street when the scent of tobacco teased my senses. I used to gather facts and information for years before this scenario came up.
There is one major story that caught my attention – the history of processing tobacco and cigarette manufacturing in Plovdiv. I used few pillars to base the story around; the architects of the tobacco warehouses; the family of tobacco traders Kutzooglu; the great benefiter of Plovdiv-Dimitar Petrov Kudoglu; the writer Dimitar Dimov-author of the novel “Tobacco”. This “archipelago” of stories is pierced by nostalgia for the past times when the decline of industry and the poor state of the buildings had formed the city’s image – the area between the Central, Trade and Bus Stations.
I have already worked with the director Pepa Koshishka for two other movies and I had confidence in her abilities. I suggested the project for the film to the general manager of Bulgarian National Television-Mrs. Dessislava Shishmanova and she agreed to make the documentary. I gave the title “Stories from the Tobacco city” because I understand well enough that Plovdiv holds for centuries such a story, thanks to the money coming from the tobacco industry used to build not only the tobacco warehouses in the area but also some of the lovelies residential buildings in Plovdiv, few of which are now public.”

This is the teaser of the movie “Stories from the Tobacco City” production of Bulgarian National Television, Channel Plovdiv, together with the Bulgarian author, journalist and theatrical critic Mrs. Penka Kalinkova.

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