Directed by Stephan Komandarev, drama, 106 min, eng subtitles, 16+
Written by Simeon Ventsislavov, Stephan Komandarev
With Irini Zhambonas, Stefan Denolyubov, Vassil Vassilev, Ivan Barnev
It is the night of 9 November 2019 in Sofia. As the country prepares to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the communist regime, three police patrol cars roam the streets of the sleeping city. On their rounds, one after another, the three teams find the body of a drug addict, Lazar, near the railroad tracks. How do duty and moral responsibilities oblige them to act? Are they, at least, as strong as common sense and the simple survival instinct of the jungle? The police officers take us on a journey through a society that is still lacking integrity after three decades of transition. Through scenes of survival and failure, of lives saved and lost, of generosity dissolving into social cruelty and indifference, the film shows the problems and triggers a search for answers.
Rounds was created two years after director Stephan Komandarev observed the people of Sofia through the eyes of taxi drivers in his film Directions (2017). It is considered to be the second part of a film trilogy dedicated to contemporary Bulgarian society.