Andrey Volkashin, Peter Vulchev
Adventures of a Turbo Folk Princess
After accidentally poisoning her gangster fiancé, clumsy sweetheart VASKA runs away with his money to fulfil her biggest dream of becoming a pop star, mentored by the short-tempered prostitute EBONI.
SYNOPSIS
This is the story of VASKA, a small-town Macedonian sweetheart, and her incredible journey to becoming the biggest turbo-folk star in the Balkans. Vaska dropped out of school after winning a regional beauty pageant, and her life has been a series of disasters ever since. Convinced she is not good for anything, she agrees to marry a local businessman but accidentally poisons him the night before their wedding. Shattered by guilt, she runs away from the funeral and ends up at the motel casino where the wedding was supposed to take place. There she meets her idol, the Serbian turbo-folk legend KURAIMA, who is shaken by Vaska's tragedy. When Vaska tells her that her greatest dream is to become a singer, Kuraima gives her a wild card to the biggest Balkan pop-folk song contest. When a Bulgarian stripper-prostitute EBONI finds out about Vaska's wild card, she offers to help her get a song and a music video for the competition. Together they go on a journey to fulfil their destinies. On the way, they are helped and challenged by a rainbow of exotic characters from the Balkan backcountry. There is Eboni's former best friend, a Greek drag-queen-turbo-folk expert, an Albanian watermelon truck driver who is desperately in love with Eboni, a patriotic folk song singer who sees in Vaska the perfect daughter-in-law for her secretly gay son, and the ghost of Vaska's dead fiancé who shows up to remind her of her deepest fears and insecurities. And not to forget the arch-nemesis - Eboni's former boyfriend, the narcissistic flamboyant casino owner and pimp with erectile dysfunction, who also just happens to be the boss of Vaska's dead fiancé.
DIRECTORS/WRITERS
Andrey Volkashin
Peter Vulchev
PRODUCERS
Pece Taleski
Ilija Tiricovski
PRODUCTION COMPANY
OXO Production
COUNTRIES
North Macedonia
Bulgaria
FORMAT
30' x 8
GENRE
Drama
Comedy
Musical
Crime
Andrey Volkashin
ANDREY VOLKASHIN is a published author and multi-award-winning screenwriter and director. He is an alumnus of Serial Eyes, Torino Film Lab, Berlinale and Sarajevo Talents. His latest short film SNAKE (2019), has screened at major festivals worldwide and won fourteen awards. He is currently in pre-production of his first feature film, a romantic psychological thriller, THE SWEET BITTERNESS OF RIPE POMEGRANATES, produced by Veda Film Productions. The project was developed at TFL's Script Lab 2019 and awarded the TFL 2022 post-production award. The film is supported by Macedonian and Bulgarian national film funds and Eurimages. In addition, he is developing a sci-fi horror series titled TO DIE OF HAPPINESS in collaboration with Munich-based production company Odeon Fiction.
Peter Vulchev
PETER VULCHEV is a Bulgarian director, screenwriter, and photographer. His first short film, SHHH... SING TO ME! (2013), which he co-wrote and co-directed with Andrey Volkashin, garnered a strong cult following, a remarkable achievement for a short film at the time. His subsequent film, A MONOLOGUE IN THE INTERMISSION (2017), has screened at over forty festivals and has received six awards, including Best Documentary at the Master of Art Film Festival. His latest film, GOOD NIGHT, LILLY (2021), won the Best Short Film award at In the Palace International Short Film Festival, an Oscar qualifying category, and has continued to succeed on the festival circuit, earning three additional honours. Peter is currently working on various short projects, two feature films, and developing a series inspired by his first short film. He is also engaged in two photography projects.
The region of Southeast Europe, proudly and shamefully known as the Balkans, is arguably the most paradoxical part of Europe. Its characteristic soundtrack encompasses all its shades and colours in an eclectic musical style that ironically unites its divided peoples. Turbo-folk, also known as Chalga, Tallava, Laïko-pop-pop, and Manele, represents people's dreams of craving escape from a world of never-ending political crises. In this show, we explore the hilarious and heartbreaking stories of people who dare to chase their dreams, even when starting from nothing. While characters like VASKA, EBONI, and CHRISTOS may be seen as shallow and dumb by many, their circumstances, dreams, needs, and shortcomings are often overlooked. This show takes these characters on a journey of self-discovery and growth, exploring their faults as much as their virtues. As writers/directors, our journey mirrors that of Vaska and Eboni. We both hail from relatively poor Balkan towns – Andrey from Macedonia and Peter from Bulgaria – and we had to overcome immense challenges to pursue our dreams of becoming filmmakers. We deeply sympathise with and understand the pain and bitter humour of marginalised communities in the Balkans. Through music and humour, we intend to address and alleviate the pressing issues typical of our region, including women's and LGBT+ rights, widespread crime and corruption, social inequality, ethnic intolerance, and chauvinistic propaganda. These issues contribute to conflict, violence, and oppression of certain regional cultures and communities.
CREATOR’S STATEMENT
Pece Taleski
PECE TALESKI is OXO's founder and executive producer, with significant experience in TV and film production since the early ‘90s. He has created and is still producing the most popular TV programs in North Macedonia: 5 PLUS (2014-2023), a children's TV show (since 2007) later evolved into TV series in two languages (Macedonian and Albanian); PRESPAV (2016-2022), the first sitcom in Macedonia and the most popular TV product in the last 20 years; and HOUSE ARREST (2022). He has recently focused on developing regional TV Series and film projects. He is one of the founders of the first commercial streaming service in North Macedonia - Gley.
Ilija Tiricovski
ILIJA TIRICOVSKI is a film and TV producer with a background in mathematics and music. He is based in Skopje, working on TV series, animation, short, and documentary films. His recent projects include a short documentary titled WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE (2020) by Sashko Potter Micevski, which premiered at MakeDox, and the short film SOLO MODE (2021) by Tamara Kotevska, which premiered at the Sarajevo Film Festival. He is an alumnus of the Midpoint Institute, Torino Film Lab, BelDocs Industry Days, and has won awards at the European Short Pitch, Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, and Evia Film Project by Thessaloniki Film Festival.
Production company profile
OXO PRODUCTION is recognised as the trailblazer of the new TV series production in North Macedonia, developing and producing quality projects with experienced and prospective film and TV professionals from the country and the region. Since 2014, the company has developed and produced some of the most popular TV series of the last 20 years, including PRESPAV (2016-2022), HOUSE ARREST (2022), and 5 PLUS (2014-2023). With carefully selected themes, topics, and an international cast and crew, their projects have achieved regional distribution. Additionally, the company has produced short fiction, animation, and documentary films, which have been screened at festivals worldwide and received numerous awards.
Where are we at?
ESTIMATED PRODUCTION BUDGET FOR THE FIRST SEASON
950.000 EUR
Production timeline
APRIL - SEPTEMBER 2024
Production