Proud Citizen

Shot and edited like a documentary, PROUD CITIZEN tells the fictional story of Bulgarian playwright Krasimira (the lovely co-writer Katerina Stoykova-Klemer) on her first trip to America to see her biographical play (which won second prize in a Kentucky playwriting contest). She dreams of coming to this country and being a pampered playwright, but instead she’s left to her own devices, traveling around Lexington and seeing the sights and meeting people all on her own. Borat, she’s not – instead, we get a chance to see one of the country’s more historical cities through the innocent eyes of a woman searching for an American experience. Interspersed with scenes from her play about Krasimira’s childhood and her relationship with her father, PROUD CITIZEN does an impeccable job of bringing to life the eagerness artists have when their work goes public, while also providing a glimpse at where that eagerness and desire for acceptance comes from. Charming and vulnerable, PROUD CITIZEN is as beautiful as the thoroughbred horses of Kentucky to which Krasimira attaches herself. (In English and Bulgarian with subtitles) – T.W.