Red April
2025 · 16m · USA
Directed by Boris Vesselinov
Genres: drama, historical, thriller
Tones: melancholic, surreal, tense
Set in 1876 Bulgaria during the April Uprising, a desperate revolutionary on the run from Ottoman forces returns to an inn and must convince a room of suspecting soldiers that he is innocent.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
1876 Bulgarian April Uprising shot by practical lantern light — that's a specific obsession and I respect it, but Son of Saul comp is a dangerous neighborhood. Could be miniature epic or earnest student film.
Vesselinov's practical-lantern 1876 Bulgaria has the right formal ambition for the Lazslo Nemes-adjacent register he targets. A first-American-made gesture about the April Uprising is historiographically valuable, though execution at this scale is the variable.
15:38 with practical lantern lighting throughout, costumes hand-made in Bulgaria, dialogue vetted by historical consultants — that's the kind of period-discipline rigor most American student-grade historical shorts skip. Only 1,503 views and 6 likes is low, but the craft commitment matters here.
Reviews
The passion and authenticity that Vesselinov and his team employ in crafting the first-ever American film of this seminal Bulgarian history comes through loudly in every frame.
Red April is straightforward and lacks nuance, with the bulk of its runtime comprising a single Hitchcockian scene of suspense, but wins you over with its passion and cultural significance.