The unconventional thriller, in which a young woman is handcuffed to the body of her dead husband and fights to survive against two killers, brought international star Megan Fox to Sofia along with a team of American crew members. This became possible after a series of steps undertaken by Jana Karaivanova, Executive Director of the Bulgarian National Film Center.
Karaivanova told FNE: "The pandemic brought the Bulgarian film industry to a halt and I found this unacceptable. We prepared two important protocols that brought the crews and the casts back on set. National and international productions are working at full speed at the moment. We want our film industry to overcome both the sanitary and the economic crisis. On 1 June 2020 the Bulgarian Film Industry Safety Guidelines Under COVID-19 were approved by the Ministry of Health and came into force. Soon after that, in coordination also with the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we agreed on an exemption to the health and entry protocols for individuals involved in the film industry. Film professionals from countries outside the EU can enter Bulgaria for work if they prove negative after testing for COVID-19. In this case they also do not have to be quarantined for 14 days and can go straight to the set. I am proud that we were among the first countries in Europe to ease the travel restrictions for filmmakers from all over the world. I dare say that with the low number of infections and fatalities from Covid-19, and with the exempt status of the film industry, Bulgaria is one of the most appealing places to shoot in Europe at the moment and we are seeing that the measures work."
The Nu Boyana Film Studios’ COVID-19 Protocol, which takes into account both the safety procedures for a visiting U.S. production and the SAG’s guidelines, was announced on 18 May 2020.
Yariv Lerner, CEO of Nu Boyana Film Studios told FNE on 22 May 2020 that he was expecting “travel restrictions to be eased”.
“Thanks to our policy and the uncompromised financing for the national productions the Bulgarian film industry is back on track”, Mrs. Karaivanova added.
