EASTERN WESTERN follows the story of Igor, a recent immigrant and widower, who struggles to raise his two-year-old son in the times of the American Frontier.
Set in the late 1880s, Igor is a recent immigrant and widower who struggles to raise his two-year old son Ivo in the mountains of the American West. The harshness of winter brings new challenges, testing Igor’s parenting and survival skills. An unexpected acquaintance who provides occasional provisions offers Igor the chance to join his family’s horse business and move into their ranch. Igor is attracted to the idea that will give him and his son a true place in American society, but he struggles to leave behind their first American home. When Igor makes the decision to join Duncan and his family, he bids farewell to their home at his wife’s grave. With spring arriving at Duncan’s ranch, Igor and Ivo feel at home with the family: Duncan, his wife Bonnie, and their two girls Anna and Olivia. Igor learns how to be a cowboy and Ivo is nurtured by the girls. Duncan soon makes the announcement that the family should expand their horse business near the larger cities of California. The two families’ journey across America begins. After a series of encounters in their journey with both friend and foe, Duncan is left with a decision that will affect baby Ivo’s future, and his own family’s, forever... Three decades later, Ivo is now a full grown American cowboy who has taken his father's ranch and horse business into the 20th century. With WWI looming across the Atlantic, his horses are now needed on the fronts of distant yet familiar lands.
Biliana Grozdanova is an international filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY, with a degree in film from the University Complutense of Madrid and the University of Chicago. Biliana and her sister Marina co-founded El Jinete Films in 2012 and have been directing films together ever since. Their trajectory started in documentary, making their feature doc debut with The Last Kamikazis of Heavy Metal at the 2014 New Orleans Film Festival. Biliana's most recent work is the feature narrative EASTERN WESTERN, recipient of the Big Sky Film Grant 2024. The film world-premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October 2024, and went on to screen at multiple festivals around the United States, picking up an Audience Award Special Mention at the 2024 New Orleans Film Festival. The film is currently being sold by WME Independent.
Biliana’s other work includes commercials, short documentaries, music videos and non-profit media. She has collaborated with the United Nations, Kartemquin Films, Wavelength Productions and the Tribeca Film Institute. Her work as Production Manager and Line Producer on acclaimed international features includes THE DAMNED (dir. Roberto Minervini, 2024 Cannes Film Festival), WHAT YOU GONNA DO WHEN THE WORLD’S ON FIRE? (dir. Roberto Minervini, 2018 Venice Film Festival) and DIRTY FEATHERS (dir. Carlos Corral, 2021 Berlin Film Festival).
Currently, Biliana is in research and development for AFTER THE RAIN, a personal documentary investigation of identity and immigration.
Premiere - Mill Valley Film Festival 2024
