This is a film about contemporary pilgrimage as a sustainable alternative to mass tourism. A documentary that not only explores the harms of mass tourism but also highlights the benefits of developing spontaneous individual tourism. An interpretation of the contemporary meaning of pilgrimage that examines every aspect of the classical understanding of spiritual journey through the eyes of two travelers in love.
Director - Angelina Grozeva
Producer& Scriptwriter - Iliyan Kuzmanov
Co- Producer - Borislava Georgieva
Camera Man - Nikola Aleksandrov
Video Editor - Daniel Ahmakov
The award from the Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was given to the documentary "Pilgrim in Thailand", created by the Pazardzhik-born writer and journalist Iliyan Kuzmanov and a journalist from Bulgarian National Radio and Bulgarian National Television Angelina Grozeva. Social entrepreneur and activist Ilian created in 2013 the Project Ezo in London, UK, which has earned numerous recognitions. Ezo brought together many causes under its roof, a huge independent library and care for the home community abroad. So the award from the Agency is not only well deserved but overdue. Yet the man behind the competition, the Executive Director of the Agency for Bulgarians Abroad Raina Manjukova and the Chair of the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad Lili Spasova were more than complimentary about the native artist, looking to him as a model for active patriots abroad yearning to change Bulgaria for the better.
The film was the basis of a series of initiatives under the umbrella of Forum I Love Bulgaria and Civic Zone for Bulgaria, in which another public figure from Pazardzhik, Nikolay Yanev, is an active part. The civic initiatives raise issues about tourism. About the urban environment, about the need for a modern and adequate view of the problems not only in small villages, but in Bulgaria as a whole.