In Bulgaria’s “Valley of Roses,” the town of Kazanlak blooms in the shadow of a weapons factory supplying seemingly distant wars. 10 500 people produce ammunition for Ukraine’s front lines, even as many still feel bound to Russia. Rifles are assembled while children learn to handle guns at local folklore fairs. In this landscape of quiet absurdity, where war underwrites everyday life, residents navigate a fragile balance between survival, belief, and identity. With irony and intimacy, the film reveals lives shaped by contradiction, where pacifist ideals collide with the need to make a living from war.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS
World Premiere: IDFA – International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2026, Frontlight
PRESS
Reviews: Variety – Acquisition Announcement
DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY
Gabriel Tejedor
A Franco-Swiss filmmaker and journalist born in 1978, Gabriel Tejedor explores utopias and individuals’ relationships with authority in the former Soviet Union. Following films such as RUE MAYSKAYA (Visions du réel, IDFA) and KOMBINAT (Visions du réel, which received international critical acclaim), The Big Boom! is his fifth feature film.
Filmography
2026, The Big Boom!
2023, Svetlana: my father is J. Stalin
2020, Kombinat
2017, Mayskaya Street
2014, The trail
CREDITS
Direction, script, sound Gabriel Tejedor
Cinematography Thomas Szczepanski
Editing Christine Hoffet
Composer Petar Dundakov
Sound Design Daniel Almada
Research & production management Lora Fileva
Producer Susanna Guggenberger
Associate Producer Vadim Jendreyko
Production company Mira Film
Co-production RTS Radio Télévision Suisse, SRG SSR
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Swisslos-Fonds Basel Stadt und Basel Landschaft
Fachausschuss Film und Medienkunst Region Basel
Federal Office of Culture (FOC)
Cinéforom
Loterie Romande
Zürcher Filmstiftung
Kulturfonds Suissimage
Succès Passage Antenne
JournaFONDS
Ville de Genève
PRODUCER’S BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY
Susanna Guggenberger
Susanna Guggenberger has been producing documentaries for Mira Film (Zürich/Basel) since 2012. Since October 2021 she is the artistic director of Bildrausch Film Festival Basel which presents an exquisite selection of outstanding films. She is a Member of Motion Picture and Science (AMPAS), European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA), Documentary Association Europe (DAE).
Born in the Austrian Alps, Susanne studied communication science and history at the University of Salzburg. Since 1998 Susanne worked with a focus on documentary film with various production companies in Vienna. She gained experience in distribution at Autlook Filmsales as well as through her roles at DOK Leipzig and Visions du Réel.
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Mira Film produces committed films that are sophisticated in both content and style, addressing social, political and cultural issues with a strong personal touch. In co-production with Argentina, Belgium, Chile, China, Germany, France, Georgia, Canada, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal and the USA, the company has produced outstanding documentary films that reach audiences worldwide in cinemas, on television, at festivals and via streaming services.
Many of the films have won national and international awards and are still in circulation even after many years. Mira Film was founded in 2002.
Mira Film GmbH
Mittlere Strasse 159
CH-4056 Basel
+41 61 313 11 14
info@mirafilm.ch
www.mirafilm.ch
