Private Project

SURRENDER

SURRENDER is a poetic documentary that highlights four of the most captivating Bulgarian male dancers (Krastyo Metodiev, Remi Toin, Nikola Hadjitanev & Svetoslav Seropyan) and lifts the curtain on who they are and why they dance. Combining their original performances with first-person documentary accounts, the film traces each man's personal relationship with dance to understand how it interacts with the idea of masculinity in Bulgarian society.

  • Kosta Karakashyan
    Director
  • Kosta Karakashyan
    Writer
  • Kosta Karakashyan
    Producer
  • Krastyo Metodiev
    Key Cast
  • Remi Toin
    Key Cast
  • Nikola Hadjitanev
    Key Cast
  • Svetoslav Seropyan
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    SURRENDER
  • Project Type:
    Short, Other
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 47 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 30, 2021
  • Country of Origin:
    Bulgaria
  • Country of Filming:
    Bulgaria
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Hot Potato
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: Internet, Video on Demand
Director Biography - Kosta Karakashyan

Kosta Karakashyan is a Bulgarian-Armenian director, choreographer, performer, and writer exploring empathy through movement and storytelling. A two-time Bulgarian National Ballroom Champion, Kosta has performed and choreographed on Dancing With the Stars Vietnam, Bulgaria's Got Talent, and across Canada, Germany, Norway, Egypt, Vietnam, and Japan. Kosta graduated from Columbia University with a BA in Dance, and his work has been featured by Vogue Russia, The Guardian, Elle Magazine, Bloomberg, the BBC, and Radio Free Europe. He has directed, produced, and choreographed numerous short films and videos through his production company Studio Karakashyan, most recently the documentary dance film WAITING FOR COLOR about the ongoing LGBTQ+ persecution in Chechnya, awarded the Prix Lumière at Cinédanse Festival Ottawa 2019.

Select clients and collaborators include:
Artists: Rita Ora, Sherihan, Preyah, Tino, Mik Loi, Bettan, Acrillics, Matt DeLuca
Commercial Clients: Kohler, Method, H&M, Studio Zard, OnVocal, Florsheim, SRB Paris
Film + TV: Dancing with the Stars Vietnam, Bulgaria’s Got Talent, The Nikolaos Tsitiridis Show, The Slavi Show
Live Work: Columbia Ballet Collaborative (New York), Ballet Arabesque (Sofia), Barnard College Movement Lab Artist-in-Residence

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