A Provincial Hospital (2022)

Kyustendil, a sleepy town in the Bulgarian mountains, has been hit by Covid, hard. In a close-knit community, patients meet former classmates in the same hospital room. Banter can often be heard through corridors, but death is never far. Many patients live in constant fear of deteriorating quickly and being sent 'upstairs'. 'Upstairs' is the intensive care unit, where only a handful are known to have survived. Presiding over the perpetual stream of complicated cases is Dr. Popov. Tall and kind-hearted, for some he has a witty line, for others a quote from Kant. Some of them misfire, but through the quiet dread in the hospital, he emits a mountain of human warmth. Unexpectedly, light and laughter echo through the hospital halls.