''Ladies' Choice'' ( / ''Dami Kanyat'') is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n comedy film released in 1980, directed by

Ivan Andonov Ivan Asenov Andonov (; 3 May 1934 – 29 December 2011) was a Bulgarian film director and actor. He directed more than thirty films, and is best known for his cinematography on ''Ladies' Choice (film), Ladies' Choice'' (1980), ''Dangerous Cha ...

, starring

Stefan Danailov Stefan Lambov Danailov (; 9 December 1942 – 27 November 2019) was a Bulgarian actor who served as Ministry of Culture (Bulgaria), Minister of Culture of Bulgaria (August 2005 – July 2009). Career The first film Danailov took part in ...

. A charming driving instructor, divorced and poor, flirts with his numerous female students all of the time. No matter of age, occupation or marital status as if all the bored women in this town court this country "

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. The original version of the story of Don Juan appears in the 1630 play (''The Trickster of Seville and t ...

". Finally, he loses control over the attacks of his suitors... The film belongs to the group of the so-called Bulgarian Cult Comedies Stream that burst out during the first half of the 1980s but starting from the previous decade. Amidst the notable ones can be listed: '' Something out of Nothing'' (1979), '' The Double'' (1980), '' A Nameless Band'' (1982), '' Dangerous Charm'' (1984) and the sequence about ''

The Past-Master ''The Past-Master'' () is a Bulgarian satiric TV comedy film released in 1973, directed by Petar B. Vasilev. The movie turned the actor Kiril Gospodinov and his character Rangel Lelin - the past-master into one of the Trade Marks of the Bulgaria ...

'' (1970–1983) Naturally, the film gave one of the all time famous quotes, as usual by the well-known

Rusev Rusev ( ), female version Ruseva ( ) is a Bulgarian language surname derived from the first name Rusi and it may refer to: *Rusev (wrestler) (formerly known as Miro), ring name of Bulgarian professional wrestler Miroslav Barnyashev. *Angel Rusev (f ...

and Todev.

Plot

The driving instructor Yakim Donev (Danailov) just divorced his wife leaving her all his modest assets. For giving the assets he is blamed by his uncle (Todev) every time when Donev visited him. The town in which he lives and works seems to be small and boring, so he initiates dalliances with his female students. There is no matter of age or occupancy, of physical appearance or marital status. All the women who tries to obtain a driving license becomes his suitors. The funny situations file one after the other. From a barely aged 18 girl (Puncheva) to an overage fatty Missus (Todorova), from two sisters-in-law (Kokanova/Statulova) to an unemployed young housewife (Dimitrova),from a research worker (Toncheva) to an artist's wife (Maneva). The acts are sometimes spiced by jealous husbands as the lawyer Baltiev (Rusev). The rope around the neck of the "Don Juan" tightens. Maybe the reason is in him but maybe in the women, all of whom fight for his attention. The chase is over with drama for all of them, with a thin tread of irony.

Production

Production company: * Studio of Featured Films (SFF) - a Film Unit

SREDETS Sredets may refer to: * Sredets, Burgas Province, a town in eastern Bulgaria previously known as Karabunar and Grudovo * Sredets (medieval Bulgaria), a historical name of today's Sofia, Bulgaria * Sredets, Sofia, a city district in Sofia * Sredet ...

*Director:

*Writer: Georgi Mishev *Director of Photography: Plamen Vagenshtayn *Music: Georgi Genkov Filmed: 1980; Premiere: 15.December.1980
The film was released on DVD in 2000s.

Cast

as Yakim Donev, the driving instructor *

Georgi Rusev Georgi Iliev Rusev (; 7 May 1928 – 1 April 2011) was a Bulgarian actor. Filmography ReferencesBulgarian National Film Archive Nikola Todev Nikola Todev (, ; 13 June 1928 – 30 March 1991) was a Bulgarian theater and film actor. Todev is best known with his performances of characteristic types most notably the village mayor in '' The Hare Census'' (1973), Kara Kolyo in ''Manly ...

as the uncle * Tsvetana Maneva as Pehlivanova *

Nevena Kokanova Nevena Kokanova () (12 December 1938 – 3 June 2000) was a Bulgarian film actress. She was known as the "first lady of Bulgarian cinema." Her mother was from a well-known Austrian aristocratic family, and her father was a political prisoner. ...

as the older sister-in-law * Mariya Statulova as the younger sister-in-law * Mariana Dimitrova as Mima, Baltiev's wife * Doroteya Toncheva as "Number 7" * Yordanka Kuzmanova as Daneva * Nadya Todorova as Dimitrova * Boryana Puncheva as Anna-Dona * Ilka Zafirova as Stancheva * Ivan Yanchev as Gechev, the private detective

Response

A reported 1,191,037 admissions were recorded for the film in cinemas throughout

. The film was subsumed among the 50 golden Bulgarian films in the book by the journalist Pencho Kovachev. The book was published in 2008 by "Zahariy Stoyanov" publishing house. There were the following publications:Bulgarian National Film Archive, Bulgarian Featured Film Encyclopedy 2008, volume three, p. 385 *Bulgarian Film Magazine, vol.6, 1980,p. 5 - by M. Balkanska *New Films Magazine, vol.9-1980,p. 15-18 by E. Gyurkova *Film News Magazine, vol. 10-1980,p. 3 - by V. Delcheva *FILM ART magazine, vol. 1,1981,p. 50-53 - by B. Mihaylov *Film Worker magazine, vol.1-1981,p. 41-44 - by O. Saparev *Film News Magazine, vol. 3-1981,p. 6-7 - by I. Bozhinova

Notes

References

*Galina Gencheva, ''Bulgarian Feature Films vol.3'', Dr. Petar Beron 2008 with the Bulgarian Cinematheque *Pencho Kovachev, ''50 Golden Bulgarian Films'', Zahariy Stoyanov 2008
Bulgarian National Film Archive

The film in the Bulgarian National Television

BNT Details

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ladies' Choice (Film) 1980s Bulgarian-language films 1980 films Bulgarian comedy films Films set in Bulgaria Films shot in Bulgaria 1980 comedy films Films directed by Ivan Andonov