Lightdox has acquired world sales rights to “The Big Boom!,” the latest documentary from Swiss filmmaker Gabriel Tejedor, ahead of its world premiere in IDFA’s Frontlight program.
The film explores the contradictions of a Bulgarian town pulled into Europe’s shifting geopolitical order, where arms production for Ukraine’s frontlines collides with enduring ties to Russia, personal convictions, and the everyday need to survive.
In Kazanlak, known as Bulgaria’s “Valley of Roses,” rose oil production and folklore traditions exist alongside a major arms industry. The Arsenal factory, the town’s main employer, provides work for thousands of people manufacturing weapons and ammunition. Through the lives of four residents, Tejedor examines the place this industry occupies in the town’s economy and identity, and the questions it raises for those whose lives depend on it.
“I have never been interested in war or weapons. But the invasion of Ukraine shattered my convictions,” Tejedor said. “Ever since, one question has haunted me: what does it mean to be a pacifist today? I do not judge the workers at Arsenal, nor the local population.
“ ‘The Big Boom!’ does not seek to lecture, but to confront the gray zones of a continent trapped in its own paradoxes.”
Anna Berthollet, CEO of Lightdox, said, “‘The Big Boom!’ brings us face to face with a contradiction at the heart of today’s Europe – a town making the weapons of war while struggling with its own loyalties and beliefs.
“Gabriel Tejedor finds a way into this reality that feels both clear-eyed and deeply human. As someone of Bulgarian origin myself, I find his sensitive portrayal of Kazanlak and its people particularly meaningful. He reveals the layers of history, identity and geopolitical influence that shape the region without reducing them to a political argument.”
Tejedor is a Swiss filmmaker and journalist whose work explores utopias and the relationship between individuals and authority across the former Soviet Union and its satellite states.
“The Big Boom!” is his fifth feature film, following “Rue Mayskaya” (selected for Visions du Réel and IDFA) and “Kombinat” (selected for Visions du Réel).
“The Big Boom!” is produced by Mira Film Basel GmbH, and is co-produced by RTS Radio Télévision Suisse and SRG SSR, with the support of Swiss and regional film funds and cultural institutions.