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Today two films produced and made by the team of GRReporter will be shown in Plovdiv. Lucky Cinema Hall will show at 5:00 pm the films "School of Patriotism" and "Grigor Dimitrov - Impressions of Athens" within the context of the information programme of the 21st Documentary and Animation Film Festival "Golden Rhyton".

The first film is directed and written by Maria S. Topalova, its cinematographers are Vassilis Vafidis and Emmanuel Nasios and the music is composed by Yuri Stupel. A school where children learn about their roots and why they should love them; teachers who work with the enthusiasm of the Bulgarian National Revival; secondary-school graduates whose dream is to return to study at a university in Bulgaria. Parents, enthusiastic like children, at one of the hubs of Bulgarian culture in Athens, Sts Cyril and Methodius Sunday School that in 2014 celebrated its 10^th anniversary. Drama, creative writing and fine arts together kindle the sparkle of patriotism among hundreds of Bulgarian children born in Greece. A smiling film look at the daily round of the Bulgarian educational institutions abroad.

The second film is directed and written by Maria S. Topalova too, Nikos Kakonas being its cinematographer. The charm of the best Bulgarian tennis player, Grigor Dimitrov, and its influence on his opponents, teammates and the ordinary spectators documented during the Bulgaria-Greece match for the Davis Cup that took place in Athens in April 2014. The great player speaks about his attitude towards tennis as the only thing in the world that he can do and wants to, as well as about the training sessions and the thrill during a competition, and about the glory and the price of victory. A true modern gladiator, who is heading to the highest sports tops, filling the nation with pride.

In fact, Greece is one of the accents of this year's festival. The common history with our southern neighbour is the theme of the film "The Dead Open the Eyes of the Living" by director Stanislava Kalcheva, which is included in the competition programme of the festival. A gory epic of the late tenth and the early eleventh century brings up a tricky and vital issue for contemporary Bulgarians and Macedonians, that of their common origins, shared hard history and common future... Disputes would only gain momentum in 2014 with the upcoming 1,000th anniversary since the Battle of Kleidion and King Samuel’s tragic demise. A group of young artists is looking for the path of reconciliation.

Tomorrow, Friday, the film "Dimitar Shishmanov. Points to ponder" by director Ralitsa Dimitrova will be shown as part of the competition programme too. Dimitar Shishmanov, an heir of the Shishmanov family, was a lawyer and diplomat, writer and humanist, whose name was coercively wiped out in 1945. The film lifts the curtain on the unjust obliteration, bringing this interesting figure as close as possible through his confessions and revelations.

From 1935 to 1940, Dimitar Shishmanov was Minister Plenipotentiary of Bulgaria in Athens and from 1940 to 1943 Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religions in the office of Prof. Bogdan Filov. In the autumn of 1943, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religions and remained in office until the summer of 1944. After the coup in 1944, he was arrested and sentenced to death by the People's Court and executed on 1 February 1945. In 1996, the Supreme Court abolished his death sentence by resolution №172.