Maria Koleva


Maria Koleva is a Bulgarian writer and independent film-maker who lives and works in France. Koleva is also credited as a producer, film-editor and cinematographer.

Life and career

Maria Koleva was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and studied chemical engineering in the United States and Germany before emigrating to France in 1971. There she studied cinema in Vincennes and began work as a film-maker. Her 1982 four-hour film-book L'état de bonheur... permanent won the Grand Prize at the Belfort Festival and is recognized as representative of the political-shown-through-the-personal film-making style of the period. Her 1974 film La fête aujourd'hui, la fête demain featured the English rock band The Who performing in Paris in 1972. She also made five films on Antoine Vitez featuring the French director conducting workshop sessions.
In 1989 Koleva conducted a 45-day hunger strike to bring attention to the fact that independent film-makers were unable to obtain distribution on French TV. After 1990, Koleva worked more in video and digital format than in film.

Films

Selected films include: