Hristo Dinev

An ordinary girl Dimka works on the cooperative farm. Her father Yordan, an honest man, is accused of a serious crime against the cooperative farm. He is brought to a comrades' court. No one doubts that the innocent man will be "exposed" and convicted. Yordan is ready to withstand the worst of injustice with silent dignity. Her daughter asks for help her boyfriend. He is the most authoritative and respected work team leader. He, however, refuses to help, fearing that this might affect his career. Dimka remembered Yoshkata, a nondescript village youth who makes everybody laugh but is very disinterested. So far, Dimka has spurned his undeclared love. Now this same "harmless joker" fights the injustice and upsets the carefully planned frame-up. The father is saved from disgrace. Dimka finds her only true love.

На тихия бряг

Маргаритка

The beginning of the 18th century. Bulgaria is under the Ottoman bondage. The monks of the Monastery of Hilendar on Mount Athos warn the young monk Paisiy to beware of the "pestilent chapel". On his deathbed, the abbot conjures Paisiy to search for Slavonic books. The young monk goes from one monastery to another in search of ancient books. He breaks into the "pestilent chapel" and finds there stacks of old Bulgarian books telling of the wisdom of Bulgarians kings, and of the power and civilization of the Bulgarian Empire and its past glory. His fellow-monks try to burn the books but Paisiy manages to escape. His Slav-Bulgarian History circulates in handwritten copies through the captive country and the Bulgarians becomes truly aware of their national identity.

A Bulgarian village before the First World War. The young and ambitious farmer Enyo loves the beautiful but poor Tsveta. His brother and his wife arrange their engagement. The hunchback girl Stanka, daughter of the richest man in the village, is in love with Enyo. Because of her father's lands Enyo decides to end his engagement with Tsveta and starts building up his farm.

Shooting of a picture: to those, familiar with only from the screen, it is a entertainment. So, in a quiet Sofia street, a shooting crew starts their work. Bypassing begin to throng, curious people are looking out of the windows of the surrounding buildings. A scene is being shot of s short dialogue between the protagonists. It goes wrong all the time and is never complete. The mess gets beyond the comical, the true relations between the members of grew show and they do not look that excellent. At long last, the final scene is shot and the street is quiet again.

Misho becomes an orphan. The good people from the neighborhood take care of him until the child is placed in an orphanage. Everyone is trying to bring joy to the kid. However, Misho is searching for his mother's love in their eyes. Now the people are being kind to him, but there is always an invisible wall. Maybe uncle Elenko is the most sincere, since he shows his feelings in a tragic moment when Misho gets on a roof of a construction site. However, why does he care for Misho end with him convincing him to go to the orphanage?

Mityo Ganev is a leader of the armed bandits. The authorities accuse the Communists of his robberies. The detachment commander, Chalaka, and Mityo Ganev have a meeting but fail to reach an agreement. The police burn out Mityo's house and send his mother into internal exile. Chalaka cuts him off from his logistical support base. Mityo agrees to join the partisan detachment. Mityo and Velyo hold up the paymaster of the army garrison. When they take the money, Mityo wants to give it to the family of the exiles. Enraged, Velyo hands the detachment over to the Colonel. Mityo kills the traitor. The police and he army launch a major operation against the partisans. In a fierce battle, Chalaka leads the detachment out of encirclement while Mityo covers their retreat. A bullet hits him.

The film is dedicated to the uprising, which broke out in Bulgaria in September 1923. All characters, with the exception of the leaders of the uprising Georgi Dimitrov and Vasil Kolarov, are symbolic characters. The central figures, Stefan and Peter, impersonate the motive forces behind the uprising - the workers and the peasants. They are involved in worker's strikes, in the stormy events of the First World War and the Soldier's uprising in 1918. They also participate in the bloody clashes of the September uprising and suffer its defeat after they have seen too late the need for concerted action by communists and agrarians.

The weaknesses and shortcomings in the work of some leaders in the years of the building of socialism are ridiculed.

The young Bulgarian Muslim woman Zyulker wants to study and become a teacher. Her father decides to arrange a marriage to her. After the wedding, she runs away and goes to the town. There she starts work in a hostel. Her husband takes her back. He beats and humiliates her. She gives birth to her child prematurely, takes the baby and goes to the school for Muslim in the town. She has to surmount many difficulties. The young woman meets her first teacher Stefanov. The two fall in love. With his help, Zyulker finishes her study successfully and makes up her mind to return to her native village as a teacher. Stefanov follows her and proposes to her. The two embrace.

The construction of the first socialist town in Bulgaria - Dimitrovgrad.

Venice Film Festival 1955