Kosta Bikov is one of Bulgaria’s cinematic figures who has dedicated over five decades to the magic of film. Cinema has been an unrelenting passion for the director, who studied under and was inspired by legendary names such as Binka Zhelyazkova and Hristo Ganev, Konstantin Pavlov, Rangel Valchanov, Lyudmil Kirkov, and Todor Andreykov. Bikov has also been closely tied to film as a member of creative collectives supporting new generations and debut works, as well as being part of the management of the iconic Dom na Kinoto (Cinema House) in Sofia during the 1990s through the Union of Bulgarian Filmmakers.
We present the text by Prof. Bozhidar Manov, dedicated to the director’s 80th anniversary:
Kosta Bikov and I have been classmates twice — first in the 1960s at the Technical University (then MEI), and again in the 1970s at VITIZ (now NATFA). At MEI, he struggled with “Mechanical Engineering,” while I was learning the secrets of radio electronics. In September 1973, when Bulgarian film education officially began, I joined the “Film Studies” class, and the following fall, he joined the “Directing” class. So we met again, this time at “Rakovski” 108.
I share these seemingly mundane facts from half a century ago to frame the trajectory of Engineer Bikov’s professional path in directing. Importantly, his journey has always been accompanied by the good fortune of working with some of Bulgaria’s most talented film figures. While still a student, he was an assistant director on Binka Zhelyazkova’s "The Swimming Pool" (1977) — a real-world school in directing, beyond academia. He also worked on her next film, "The Big Night Bathe “ (1980). A year earlier, he had already graduated with a TV adaptation of Slawomir Mrożek’s play "The Police," officially “baptized” on set in the profession.
His directorial debut "Surge of Tenderness" (1983), based on a WWII story by writer and doctor Rudenko Yordanov, radiates with strong humanist energy, captured in the piercing blue eyes of actor Lyuben Chatalov. The same actor-director synergy worked again in "Life, Post Restate “ (1986), based on a screenplay by Vlado Daverov — a poignant reckoning with fading dreams and illusions, while their contemporary Hristo Prodanov climbs Everest without oxygen… and remains there forever.
A crucial detail: the film features verses by Konstantin Pavlov, which later inspired Bikov’s documentary "An Attempt at Silence" (1998), a portrait of the great poet and screenwriter. Pavlov’s words also shape the lens through which artist Georgi Bozhilov – The Elephant – is seen in "The Great Farewell" (2005).
Bikov holds great reverence for major figures of contemporary Bulgarian culture, hence his documentary portraits of his “film icons”: the brilliant director Rangel Valchanov ("The Journey Between the Two Films," 1998 and "Rangel Forever," 2019), and the unique film historian Prof. Todor Andreykov in "Citizen Cinema " (2014) — a clever pun on Citizen Kane.
I can confidently say these three documentaries by Kosta Bikov are his personal confession about the meaning of being a filmmaker.
And when a former engineer, now an 80-year-old director, says it — we should believe him.
Engineer Bozhidar Manov (77)
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