The Island of Tsar Samuil

The Island of Tsar Samuil

Watch Movie
2003
0h 55m
0.0(0 votes)
Documentary

Overview

An island in northwest Greece keeps memories of the Bulgarian past.

Links & Resources

Website

Social & External

Similar Movies

The Heart Dies Last
10.0
1991

The Heart Dies Last

Documentary about the ex-secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party - Traicho Kostov.

Movie
May It Fill Your Soul
2016

May It Fill Your Soul

May It Fill Your Soul is a film about Bulgarian traditional music, about the pain of emigration and the promise of immigration, and about a family with a century-long musical history. Bulgaria's astonishingly rich village music traditions include strong women's singing, musical instruments with roots its millennia-old pastoral lifestyle and its 500-year history in the Ottoman Empire, and its lively dancing in additive meters of 5, 7, 9, and 11 beats to the measure. These practices are presented through the lens of a musical family trained during Bulgaria's communist regime (1944-1989) to represent the best that Bulgaria had to offer the world, but who made the wrenching decision in the post-communist period to immigrate to the United States for the sake of their daughters' futures. From that vantage point they have been able to teach their art to, and "fill the souls" of, singers, dancers, musicians, and audiences all over the world.

Movie
Revza
8.0
2016

Revza

While the film focuses on a mother and son’s relationship, it investigates the long-term effects of the immigration of the filmmaker’s family from Bulgaria to Turkey and the life of a widow in a patriarchal culture.

Movie
The Last Freedom of Georgy Konstantinov
2019

The Last Freedom of Georgy Konstantinov

A film about the dramatic and extraordinary fate of the lonely man who confronted the meat grinder of the communist regime. Georgy Konstantinov, 19 years old, blew up Stalin's monument in Sofia and death passed him by only because the dictator died two days later. He miraculously survived 10 years in prison and psychiatric wards and managed to escape to France. His State Security file numbers more than 40,000 pages. Even today, he does not cease to expose the crimes of the regime with the strength of truth and of his character.

Movie
1988

A gifted nation...

A short documentary film about Czech-Bulgarian painter Ivan Mrkvička

Movie
Binka: To Tell a Story About Silence
9.0
2007

Binka: To Tell a Story About Silence

A film pioneer, Binka Zhelyazkova was at the forefront of political cinema under Bulgaria's Communist dictatorship. Though she remained faithful to the communist ideals she became an avid critic of the regime and brought upon herself the wrath of its censorship. As a result four of her nine films were shelved and released to the public only after the fall of the regime in 1989, and Binka Zhelyazkova became known as the bad girl of Bulgarian cinema. A provocative portrait that reveals the pressures and complexities that arise when art is made under totalitarianism.

Movie
A Question of Survival
2021

A Question of Survival

A documentary film exploring the legacy of the Holocaust in Bulgaria and the Balkans through the personal stories of three Bulgarian Jews.

Movie
The Poet In The Labyrinth Of Time
6.0
2022

The Poet In The Labyrinth Of Time

February 1954: ten mass graves with over 500 bodies are found in the region of Sofia, Bulgaria. Experts say they were killed and the deaths occurred in 1925. In one of the graves a glass eye is found - the glass eye of the poet Geo Milev.

Movie
Something like Hyde Park
8.0
1989

Something like Hyde Park

In the weeks and months surrounding the overthrowing of Bulgaria's socialist dictatorship, the public's taste for democratic discussion begs to be sated. Kiryakov's camera walks through Sofia's South Park as it turns into a hotbed for ideological debate and picketing, where citizens from all walks of life share their hopes despite the winter weather.

Movie
Voevoda
7.2
2017

Voevoda

At the end of the 18th century in Bulgaria under Ottoman slavery, a young woman leaves home and family to become leader of a guerrilla gang.

Movie
Red April
8.0
2025

Red April

In 1876 Bulgaria, a desperate revolutionary must convince a room of suspecting Ottoman soldiers that he is innocent. Based on the history of the April Uprising -- a struggle for independence between Bulgaria and the immense Ottoman Empire.

Movie
Boris I: Part 1 – The Baptizing
7.0
1985

Boris I: Part 1 – The Baptizing

Part one of this two-part epic follows the life and deeds of Boris I – a strong historic personality, which completes his mission to the full and at the end of his life receives holy orders.

Movie
Boris I - Part 2 - Word For Letters
4.0
1985

Boris I - Part 2 - Word For Letters

Knyaz Boris I reached the most important spiritual insight - the country needed a single language and script. It accepts students of Cyril and Methodius, creating Ohrid and Preslav Literary School. What other nations took centuries, for bulgarians takes place only about 20 years after their baptizing - introduced a Slavonic Alphabet.

Movie
Khan Asparukh - Part I - Phanagoria
7.2
1981

Khan Asparukh - Part I - Phanagoria

This is an epic screen presentation showing the creation, the consolidation and the power of First Bulgarian Kingdom and the first Bulgarian ruler Khan Asparuh. This is the first part of the film trilogy about the events before the creation of the Bulgarian state in the middle of the VII century. Volga Bulgaria is straining under the attacks of the Khazars. Following the testament of his father, the sons of Khan Kubrat looking for a new home for their tribes. The youngest of them - Asparukh, wander 20 years in search of "land forever" for his people and reaches the mouth of the Danube. The film is narrated by captured Byzantine chronicler Belisarius, which should Asparukh in his journeys. Byzantine witnessed the heroic efforts of the Bulgarians to win the land south of the Danube and to create their new country.

Movie
Khan Asparukh - Part II - The Migration
7.2
1981

Khan Asparukh - Part II - The Migration

This is an epic screen presentation showing the creation, the consolidation and the power of First Bulgarian Kingdom and the first Bulgarian ruler Khan Asparuh. The second part of the great historical epic - "The Migration" - tells about the long journey to the land of the Bulgarians of today's Bulgaria. Here the young Khan Asparukh laid the foundations of the new state. The authors adhere to the established historical versions for this event. The film builds on the impressive mass scenes and the convincing served psychological characteristics of the main characters. The image of Asparoukh is a natural center of the story, in which many minor persons recreate the environment of the Khan. Romantic exalted, Asparukh is shown as capable leader of the people, consistently implement his own ideas.

Movie
Khan Asparukh - Part III - Land Forever
8.0
1981

Khan Asparukh - Part III - Land Forever

The last part of the epic "Khan Asparukh" - "Land Forever" is an impressive finish to scale narrative, created for the nationwide celebration of 13 century anniversary of the Bulgarian state. The authors collected in final chord all storylines, culminating in the political strengthening of the young Bulgarian state. In the center of the film epic again is the image of Khan Asparukh - a lofty romantic hero who embodies the virtues and energy of his people.

Movie
Burn, Burn, Little Fire
7.0
1994

Burn, Burn, Little Fire

A new teacher - Marina - arrives in a small Pomak village in the late 1960s. She is a woman trying to live and think independently. Marina finds herself in a world unknown to her, at once pure and immaculate, but with the signs of the deformation of natural life that is typical of the whole country. After meeting the Doctor, Bai Mnogoznai, Mariana, the mayor, the internationalist Yosko, she discovers that each resists authority in their own way. And when the government starts changing the non-Bulgarian names of the Pomak villagers, the heroine realizes she is in a prison - with high mountains, forests, rivers - a prison of tragic beauty.

Movie
Bet
7.5
2025

Bet

Before the Liberation, during the years of the exiled Bulgarian revolutionaries in Romania, the Major and the Prime Minister once shared the same ideals, the same home, and even the same woman. Today, the Major orchestrates a conspiracy to overthrow the government led by his former friend, the Prime Minister. The head of state must be assassinated, and the Prince – dethroned. The woman is part of the plot, but she will try to prevent the fratricide.

Movie
The Boss's Daughters
10.0
1973

The Boss's Daughters

In September 1923, during the so-called 'anti-fascist' uprising, police chief's daughter Kita falls for a student with communist beliefs. Although loyal to the monarch, her father's paternal instinct force him to compromise but his retaliation against the rebels takes a devastating turn.

Movie
Gundi: Legend of Love
8.0
2024

Gundi: Legend of Love

The great Bulgarian football player Georgi Asparuhov and his greatest love - his wife Lita go through a number of trials of life, football and the political system.

Movie

Recommended Movies

A Toxic Love Story
6.5
2026

A Toxic Love Story

A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.

Movie
My Mom Jayne
8.0
2025

My Mom Jayne

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

Movie
Sidney
7.0
2022

Sidney

This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.

Movie
John Candy: I Like Me
7.9
2025

John Candy: I Like Me

Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.

Movie
In the Realms of the Unreal
7.2
2004

In the Realms of the Unreal

In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

Movie
Dawg Fight
6.5
2015

Dawg Fight

In a crime-plagued neighborhood near Miami, brutal, bare-knuckled backyard fights give young men a chance to earn money -- and self-respect.

Movie
Being James Bond
7.8
2021

Being James Bond

Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.

Movie
42 Up
7.6
1999

42 Up

Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.

Movie
180° South
7.2
2010

180° South

The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.

Movie
Looking for Richard
6.8
1996

Looking for Richard

Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."

Movie
The Last Waltz
7.7
1978

The Last Waltz

Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and other rock legends.

Movie
McQueen
7.5
2018

McQueen

Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.

Movie
The Walking Dead: The Return
7.4
2024

The Walking Dead: The Return

Stars of "The Walking Dead," Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira, walk down memory lane and visit iconic locations where pivotal moments between their characters, Rick and Michonne, were filmed.

Movie
S4: The Bob Lazar Story
8.3
2026

S4: The Bob Lazar Story

Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity

Movie
Gilbert
6.7
2017

Gilbert

The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.

Movie
For the Love of Spock
7.4
2016

For the Love of Spock

The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.

Movie
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
6.8
2025

Unknown Number: The High School Catfish

Vulgar, taunting texts blow up the phones of a teen and her boyfriend. Who's sending them — and why? This twisty documentary reveals the shocking answer.

Movie
A Decade Under the Influence
7.9
2003

A Decade Under the Influence

A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.

Movie
Boys State
7.1
2020

Boys State

This raucous journey into the heart of democracy captures an unusual rite of passage: 1,100 teenage boys from across Texas coming together to build a representative government from the ground up.

Movie
Love, Marilyn
6.6
2013

Love, Marilyn

Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.

Movie