The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories

The city of Belene, Bulgaria is on the verge of something big. There are plans to build a new, state-of-the-art nuclear power complex within the city limits – finally something the citizens can be proud of and something to erase the negative connotations that come from the fact that Belene was the site of a Soviet-era concentration camp. The plans are so monumental that the planned power plant can be found on decorative plates, coffee mugs, and other souvenirs. The problem is, the plans for the plant were scrapped over 20 years ago. Director Andrey Paounov surveys the present-day citizenry of Belene–including drunken boar hunters, the cheerleaders from the Marie Curie Nuclear Energy High School, the lone Cuban left over from the power plant construction crew, and the former mayor who happens to have also been the superintendent of the labor camp. The humorous and deadpan interviews give insight to the daily realities that the people along the Danube face. The one thing they agree upon is finding a solution to their mosquito problem. (In Bulgarian with English subtitles) – WFG