Zahari Zhandov(1911-1998)

Zahari Zhandov was a Bulgarian film director, scriptwriter and cinematographer. He was born on October 1, 1911 in the city of Ruse. At first, he studied mathematics and then administrative sciences. His debut in filmmaking was with the short documentary One Day in Sofia (1946). Alarm (1951) was the directorial debut of Zahari Zhandov in fiction films. In later years, he became a significant figure in Bulgarian cinema. In Alarm, as in his next film The Heroes of September (1954), Zhandov based his approach on a firm concept of traditionalism and on the romanticizing monumentality. Later he came to direct films like Shibil (1968), Birds Come Flying to Us (1971) and The Master of Boyana (1981). Zhandov got a Golden Palm nomination at the Cannes Film Festival in 1957 for the film Earth. In 1969, he was a member of the jury at the Sixth Moscow International Film Festival. He died on February 2, 1998 in Sofia.