Private Project

Red Light

In 2015, in a small Bulgarian village, a bus stops at the only intersection, where the traffic light is stuck on red. Stoyan (63), the bus driver, refuses to move forward which provokes a conflict. A story about the funny side of apathy, selfishness, and loneliness in a world where following the rules is a kind of misunderstanding.

  • Toma Waszarow
    Director
  • Viktor Dessov
    Writer
  • Toma Waszarow
    Writer
  • Toma Waszarow
    Producer
  • Ivan Kelava
    Producer
  • Anna Stoeva
    Producer
  • Tsvetan Daskalov
    Key Cast
    Driver
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Na Cherveno
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Comedy
  • Runtime:
    21 minutes 18 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 10, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    45,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Bulgaria
  • Country of Filming:
    Bulgaria
  • Language:
    Bulgarian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital Arri Alexa
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:1.37
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Palm Springs International ShortFest
    Palm Springs
    United States
    June 24, 2017
    East coast US Premiere
    Audience Award
  • Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival
    Bristol
    United Kingdom
    September 23, 2016
    European
    Audience Award + Honourable Mention for Brief European New Talent Award
  • NexT International Short Film Festival
    Bucharest
    Romania
    June 24, 2017
    Romanian premiere
    Audience Award
  • Sofia International Film Festival
    Sofia
    Bulgaria
    March 17, 2016
    Bulgarian
    Best Short Film Award (Jameson)
  • CINEMED Mediterranean Short Film Festival Montpellier
    Montpellier
    France
    November 5, 2016
    French
  • Festival Européen du Film Court de Brest
    Brest
    France
    November 10, 2016
    Sundance.tv AWARD
  • Trieste Film Festival
    Trieste
    Italy
    January 21, 2017
    Italian
    to be screened
  • Go Short
    Nijmegen
    Netherlands
    April 6, 2017
    Dutch
  • Prague Short Film Festival
    Prague
    Czech Republic
    January 19, 2017
    Czech
    Audience Award
  • In The Palace International Short Film Festival
    Sofia
    Bulgaria
    December 1, 2016
    Best Bulgarian Short Film
  • REGARD – Saguenay International Short Film Festival
    Saguenay
    Canada
  • Discovery.film Awards
    London
    United Kingdom
    Best Comedy
  • Vilnius International Film Festival
    Vilnius
    Lithuania
    Lithianian
  • Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes de Aguilar de Campoo
    Aguilar de Campoo
    Spain
    December 6, 2016
    Spanish
  • 14th Mediterranean Short Film Festival of Tangier
    Tangier
    Morocco
    October 13, 2016
    African Premiere
    Best Screenplay Award
  • Two Short Nights Film Festival
    Exeter
    United Kingdom
    December 2, 2016
    Best Short Film
  • Detour on the Road Film Festival
    Rome
    Italy
    October 29, 2016
    Italian
    Best Short Film
  • Festival of Mediterranean Films in Split
    Split
    Croatia
    June 7, 2016
    Croatian
  • Longue vue sur le court
    Montreal
    Canada
    November 25, 2016
    Best Short Film - Jury Public Adulte
  • Longue vue sur le court
    Montreal
    Canada
    November 25, 2016
    Best Short Film - Jury Public Francisation
  • Stuttgarter Filmwinter
    Stuttgart
    Germany
  • Internationale Kurzfilmwoche Regensburg
    Regensburg
    Germany
  • Festival du cinéma européen de Lille
    Lille
    France
  • Festival of Nations

    Austria
  • Jaipur International Film Festival
    Jaipur
    India
    India
  • Internationale Grenzland-Filmtage
    Selb
    Germany
  • Marin County 2017 Short Film and Video Competition

    United States
    Second Prize
  • Fear No Film at the Utah Arts Festiva

    United States
    June 25, 2017
    Audience Award Applauding GROUPTHINK
Distribution Information
  • Radiator IP sales
    Country: Bulgaria
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Toma Waszarow

Born in 1977 in Sofia, Bulgaria with Polish roots. Graduate Film and TV Directing in 2005. Participant at Berlinale & Sarajevo Talent Campus, TOSMI, How to Say It.
In 2005 he directed 1min short film The Kiss that was seen by more than 13.5 millions of viewers on YouTube by 2016.
In 2015 and 2016 Toma Waszarow was awarded by the Bulgarian Film Academy as the best feature film editor.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In 2013 I was inspired by an article in a Polish newspaper about a bus that stopped at a traffic light stuck in red and stayed there for 2 hours, producing a huge traffic jam. I just thought that's a simple set up that can reveal many sides of the social world of a country. What was the motivation of the driver in Poland and what would be in my home country - Bulgaria? The Polish driver probably just followed the rules like Polish think people do it in Western Europe. But in Bulgaria, this behavior would be provoked by deeply personal reasons like weakness and anger against the world. Why? In Bulgaria, as an EU country, the democracy looks like real, but only on the surface. The state is out of order because it's captured by the mafia that holds the police, the government, the media and people are forced to emigrate and leave their families forever. Pressed by the economical and political situation Bulgarians don't believe in the law and institutions, so they prefer to find protection inside themselves. That's why I decided to create Bulgarian passengers, a Bulgarian policeman, a Bulgarian driver, to put them in a closed space, somewhere in the countryside and to follow what is going to happen, led by my personal intuition.