Koleva, Maria

(October 2, 1940, Sofia, Bulgaria - )

   The daughter of a chemist and economist father and a journalist and playwright mother, she was trained as a chemical engineer in Bulgaria and at the University of Maryland (1961). In 1968, she landed a job as a journalist at Radio Sofia and then switched to movies and entered films as an assistant director. She directed three documentaries before moving to France, where she studied cinema at the University of Vincennes for three years. While shooting her first French films, she worked as a chemist for a beauty products company. Besides her 16-mm works, she has shot more than 500 videos since 2000. Her play Ophélie fait la Grève de la Faim avec Docteur X en arrière was published by L'Harmattan in 2004. She appeared as the representa­tive of the First Congress of the Communist Interna­tional in Reds (Warren Beatty, USA, 1981).

 Filmography

1974 ◘ La Fête aujourd'hui, la Fête Demain (documentary; also screenwriter, producer; shot in 1972)

        ◘ L'Enfant aux Yeux morts (short; also screenwriter, producer)

1976 ◘ Vitez s'amuse avec Brecht et Claudel (documentary; also producer)

1978 ◘ Cinq Leçons de Théatre d'Antoine Vitez (documentary; five segments: "Martine et le Cid", "L'Ours ou Tchekov est-il misogyne?", "Le Barbouillé ou La Gaie Mort", "Noce de Sang ou La Création de l'Obstacle", "Andromaque ou l'Irréparable"; also producer; shot in 1976-1978)

        ◘ L'Etat de Bonheur permanent! (two parts; also delegate producer, actor, editor)

        ◘ La Voiture (also screenwriter, delegate producer, editor)

        ◘ Ubu ou La Diminution de la Sexualité chez les jeunes Cadres dynamiques, Leçon de Théâtre No. 6 d'Antoine Vitez (documentary; also producer, editor; shot in 1976)

        ◘ Comment la souffrance du Metteur en Scène devient celle de Racine, Leçon de Théâtre No. 7 d'Antoine Vitez (documentary; short; also producer, editor; shot in 1976)

1991 ◘ Paroles tues ou Aimer en Etrangère à Paris (also screenwriter, producer, editor; shot in 1989)

        ◘ Lohn, le dernier Ouvrier sur terre, l'An 2024 (also screenwriter, producer, editor)

1993 ◘ Isabelle et les 27 Voleurs, une Leçon . . . (also screenwriter, producer, editor)

        ◘ "Le libéré" de Bertolt Brecht ou La Lâcheté quo­tidienne, Leçon de Théâtre No. 8 d'Antoine Vitez (documentary; short; also producer, editor; shot in 1976)

        ◘ L'Echange ou Comment faire de Claudel un Auteur laïque, Leçon de Théâtre No. 9 d'Antoine Vitez (documentary; also producer, editor)

        ◘ Electre, le Droit à la Folie pour tous, ou La Ven­geance en Question, Leçon de Théâtre No. 11 d'Antoine Vitez—1976-1998 (documentary; also producer, editor; shot in 1976)

        ◘ Ecrivains, Artistes, soyez les Kamikazes de la Cul­ture (documentary; short; shot on video; also screenwriter)

        ◘ Le Cinéma "Le Denfert" donne Carte blanche à Raphaël Bassan (documentary; short; also cinematographer)

        ◘ Théâtre et Réalités russes selon Antoine Vitez: "Ivanov" d'Anton Tchekov (Partie I)",Le Don pais­ible" de M. Cholokov (partie II), Leçon de Théâtre No. 10 d'Antoine Vitez (documentary; also producer, editor; shot in 1976)

        ◘ Lire tout au Théâtre: Journaux, Romans, poèmes, l'Huma, Aragon, Sallenave, Ritsos . . . , Leçon de Théâtre No. 12 d'Antoine Vitez (documentary; also producer, editor; shot in 1976)

        ◘ L'Internationale des Fonctionnaires, Avignon 2024, ou Les Petits contre les Grands (documentary; also screenwriter, producer, editor)

2003 ◘ Grandeur et Misère de la Société de Consommation (documentary; also original book, screenwriter, adapter, producer, editor)

        ◘ Cinéma de Luxe, cinéma de M . . . (short; also screenwriter, producer, editor)

        ◘ SARL de Journalistes "Hamlet et Fils" (short, also screenwriter, producer, editor)

2004 ◘ Ophélie fait la Grève de la Faim avec Docteur X

        ◘ en Arrière Plan (documentary; also original play, screenwriter, adapter, dialogist, producer, editor; unreleased)