"Angel Wagenstein: Art is a Weapon": Screening and Discussion

(2017, dir Andrea Simon, U.S./Bulgaria, 84 min, in Bulgarian, English, German and Russian w/ English subtitles)

An exquisitely crafted and intellectually provocative documentary essay on the great Bulgarian screenwriter, novelist, and lifelong revolutionary Angel Wagenstein.  At 95 he remains a man of massive charm and ferocious intelligence, a passionate witness to history and an active participant in the debate on Bulgaria’s rocky post-communist future.  Wagenstein’s life and work raise critical questions (more timely now than ever) on when, how and why to resist the totalitarian impulse … and where the paths of resistance may lead.

Co-sponsored by the UMass DEFA Film Library and German Studies, Mount Holyoke.             

Introduction by Barton Byg (UMass).

The director Andrea Simon will be present for discussion this evening and the following evening in conjunction with the screening of STARS/STERNE.