Filmmakers Grozeva and Valchanov Explore Moral Decay in 'Black Money for White Nights'

Acclaimed Bulgarian directing duo Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov are set to present their latest film, 'Black Money for White Nights,' at the Thessaloniki Film Festival's industry arm, Agora, from November 2-6, 2025. The film is a tragicomic meditation on the "quiet moral erosion" in post-communist Bulgaria, where a middle-aged couple's dream trip to witness the White Nights in St. Petersburg is shattered when Russia's invasion of Ukraine causes their travel agency to vanish with their life savings.

As the couple, Marina and Gosha, struggle to recover their missing money, long-buried betrayals surface, forcing them to confront the lies their lives were built on. The directors describe the film as exploring the "absurdity" of a society where "words lost their meaning and moral gravity seemed to collapse" in the wake of global upheaval. Despite the bleak subject matter, Grozeva and Valchanov aim to portray their characters with sympathy, seeking to understand rather than judge them.

Ultimately, the filmmakers believe that it is in the collapse of the couple's comfortable lives that a glimmer of hope may emerge. "When lies and delusions collapse completely, maybe that's when we open the space for truth and some different kind of order," says Grozeva. 'Black Money for White Nights' promises to be a poignant and thought-provoking exploration of the human condition in troubled times.