Zift
| Zift "Дзифт" |
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|---|---|
| Directed by | Javor Gardev |
| Produced by |
Miramar Film Georgi Dimitrov Ilian Dzhevelekov Matey Konstantinov Stefan Goranov |
| Written by | Vladislav Todorov |
| Starring |
Zachary Baharov Tanya Ilieva Vladimir Penev Mihail Mutafov Đoko Rosić |
| Distributed by | Alexandra Films Miramar Film |
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Release date
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Running time
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92 minutes |
| Country | Bulgaria |
| Language | Bulgarian |
| Budget | 1,200,000 leva (€600,000) |
Zift (Bulgarian: "Дзифт", "Dzift") is 2008 black-and-white Bulgarian film that combines neo-noir and black comedy with socialist retro motifs; it is based on Vladislav Todorov's 2006 eponymous novel who also wrote the script. Zift was directed by Javor Gardev and premiered on 27 June 2008 at the 30th Moscow International Film Festival, where it won a Silver George for Best Director and the Best Film Prize of the Russian Film Clubs Federation.
The film stars Zachary Baharov as Moth, the main character who organizes a robbery out of love and money and is imprisoned before the 9 September coup d'état for a murder he did not commit. Moth is released from jail in the 1960s to meet the new and unfamiliar reality of socialist Sofia. Zift's name is derived from the Arabic loanword zift or dzift, meaning "asphalt" "bitumen" or "black pitch", once a popular chewing substance among the gangs in Sofia asphalt jungle; the word is also claimed to be urban slang for shit.
Zift's plot unfolds non-linearly: although the main story after Moth's release from prison is told chronologically, the events leading to his imprisonment are revealed by means of numerous relatively long and not necessarily chronological flashbacks. The story is presented chronologically here.
Moth is an ordinary guy from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. At school, he falls in love with the beautiful Ada (Tanya Ilieva), later nicknamed "Mantis". Out of a desire for money, he agrees to work for a shady neighbour known as Slug (Vladimir Penev). The two plot the theft of a black diamond from the white émigré jeweller Vlad the Bijou's house. The robbery ends in failure as Moth is wounded by The Bijou and captured by the police; Slug manages to escape and is never charged. There is no trace of the diamond, and as Vlad is killed by Slug during the robbery, the police never get to know of its existence.
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Wikipedia