Framing the Periphery: Unveiling the Balkans’ Cinematic Legacy Beyond the Center

Book review of Charlie Chaplin on Vitosha: The Shaping of Film Culture in Bulgaria and the Balkans Between the World Wars

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.60060/MLg.2025.17.106-110

Keywords:

cinema, Bulgaria, Balkan cinema, film, culture

Abstract

This review of “Charlie Chaplin on Vitosha: The Shaping of Film Culture in Bulgaria and the Balkans Between the World Wars” traces sixteen interconnected studies that chart the rise of Balkan cinema in the interwar years, beginning with an opening essay that situates Bulgaria alongside its neighbors in forging a distinctive film culture shaped by innovation, ambition, and regional exchange. Some early reflections on modernist and avant-garde movements illuminate the ideological ferment that provided fertile ground for cinematic experimentation in the Balkans between the wars.

 

Bibliography:

Donev, Alexander (ed.) (2025) Charlie Chaplin on Vitosha. The Shaping of Film Culture in Bulgaria and the Balkans between the World Wars. Sofia: Institute of Art Studies – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Author Biography

Peter Ayolov, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”

Peter Ayolov, PhD, has two Master’s degrees: in „Literature“ and in „Cinema“, and
a PhD in Mass Communication. He has more than 10 years of experience as an
assistant professor at Sofia University and more than 15 years of experience working
as a director and writer in television and cinema. Dr. Ayolov teaches university
course in Creative Scriptwriting. His research topics include the propaganda model
of the media, media bias, and manipulation.

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Published

2025-06-23

Issue

No. 17 (2025): Media influences, algorithms, cultures

Section

Рецензии