KRISTINA NIKOLOVA
In the Hell with Ivo
/BUL-USA/
Bulgarian queer artist Ivo Dimchev captivates audiences worldwide with his electrifying art shows, which blend singing and songwriting, theatre, dance, and visual art.
Despite being HIV-positive, Ivo responded to the Covid lockdowns by performing a series of no less than 400 free, intimate concerts in people’s homes. But for an artist who challenges societal norms surrounding sexuality, identity, and power, Bulgaria is too small, homophobic, and conservative. Ivo leaves in search of artistic fulfillment to New York, where his raw physicality takes even experimental-theatre audiences out of their comfort zones.
In a world that resists his radical individuality, facing isolation, and paying the emotional cost of artistic freedom, Ivo transforms personal vulnerability and collective hardship into impactful art and activism, in a celebration of authentic and uncompromising self-expression.
Winner: Special Jury Award Documentary – Sarajevo Film Festival 2025
Director: Kristina Nikolova
Produced by A LunaClipse Media and Magic Shop production
Runtime: 78 mins
Language: English, Bulgarian
Subtitles: Estonian, English
Screening times:
Thu, 2.07 at 21 in Rakvere Rakvere Theatre Cinema (BUY TICKET, ticket sale starts at 15th of April at 12.00)
Fri, 3.07 at 17 in Rakvere Rakvere Theatre Cinema (the film will be followed by a conversation with the film's director Kristina Nikolova and Ivo Dimchev.) (BUY TICKET, ticket sale starts at 15th of April at 12.00)
