Meet Yavor Veselinov | Film Director, Cinematographer, Editor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yavor Veselinov and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yavor, the decisions we make often shape our story in profound ways. What was one of the most difficult decisions you’ve had to make?
There are plenty of difficult decisions a filmmaker has to be ready to make – creative, practical, personal… Sometimes, you’d have to cast an actor, who’s not your first choice, but the producers’ or the client’s. Sometimes, budget and being behind schedule would have you drop carefully planned shots, sometimes entire scenes, say, if you’re shooting a film. Often, in the editing process you realize, that a great scene on its own doesn’t work for the story and the film for some reason – and it has to be cut out. It is difficult, because you’re attached to it, you’ve spent a great deal of effort and resources, weeks to plan, prep, shoot, edit… One of the most difficult personal decisions I had to make was I had drop a career in an environment, where I was quite established, and knew pretty much everyone in the industry (Bulgaria is a small country) and move to the U.S., having to build a career from scratch here, where I knew no one, at 44 years old…

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Every human being has the need to express themselves, to express their perspective on the world we live in, it could be on anything that is important to us, in general or at a given period. Choosing a profession is choosing the best way you can express yourself. For me, it is film, telling a story with a camera; create, design the world or just a fraction of it – in possibly the most honest way you see it and feel about it. Without imposing a view or preaching… just get your visions and perspective out there and hope it would relate to people, move them, maybe even ignite a cathartic experience, similar to the ones I’ve had while watching a good film. That is – tell your truth. And you have to be good at it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I moved to Los Angeles about a year and a half ago and I myself am still learning about places. I live in Mar Vista, near Venice, so if I had a week long trip with a best friend visiting, well, I’d definitely take them to some of the beaches nearby, then we’d probably go check out some of the famous spots in town, Hollywood reservoir, Downtown, The Getty… We’d drive up north on the Pacific Highway and east to Joshua tree and I’d definitely want to show them Death Valley at sunset, Zabriskie Point… I was more impressed by Death Valley than by the Grand Canyon, it is mesmerizing, like it’s another planet.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Books and films helped form my desire to express myself through film. I was blown away by the way some writers and filmmakers saw and revealed the world through their stories, through the manner of presenting it, the craft, the endless possibilities of film. The books of Marquez, Dostoyevski, Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Julian Barnes, Roberto Bolaño – these are just some of the authors that have become a huge inspiration. The films of Tarkovsky, Kubrick, David Lynch, Jarmusch, Fincher and many others too. I realize, that was what I wanted to do too. Once that was established I went on and studied in the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, where we all had similar interests and inspirations and were able to meet and work with some amazing creators and mentors.

Website: www.equivoquepictures.com

Instagram: @yavor_vess

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yavorvesselinov.equivoque

Image Credits
Kalina Mondzholovska Yavor Vesselinov Rumen Vasilev Rosen Daskalov Kiril Prodanov