Pete's message

Do you think there's a higher purpose for your existence?

Jan 21, 2024

A few days ago Julia, who runs our film operations in Bulgaria, started putting together a few reasons of why I should be invited to podcasts. I had fun with the answers bellow… but first join me in welcoming friend and fellow writer Clayton Vermulm to the Substack community. Clay’s commitment to storytelling is contagious. He has a wonderful line up of creative endeavors planned. If horror is your thing, say hay to Clay in his newsletter.

What do you like to talk about the most?

I love to write, to let the blank paper talk back. Films also love to talk and I enjoy what they have to say. As much as film making is my vocation, writing is my most pressing guiding light; my everything; my dialogue with humanity. I enjoy conversations about my craft, what animates it, how it makes one feel and why having a purpose is a saving grace. Overhauling the modern education system is a topic I’m very passionate about. So are the topics of Life, Death, everything in between and everything beyond what we think we are.

Brag a bit! Talk about your achievements and what makes you stand out from the rest of the world? Why were you born? Do you think there's a higher purpose for your existence? What other people think of you and why they love you?

I can speak to my process of how I choose to be in the world.

My profession has taught me that patience and perseverance go a very long way in making your dreams come true. When a producer approached me to direct my first documentary she said she was hiring me because of my ability to relate to others. The French documentary film series “Shoah”, which I saw in my early twenties, forever changed how I related to humans. It’s a nine hour, 11 years in the making documentary which is told by Jewish survivors of the camps with no archival footage used whatsoever. The raw emotion, vulnerability and honesty rattled my worldview and moved me deeply.

Pete, who was fourteen when he fought for the Nazis, changed how I relate to my art. I interviewed him for a screenplay I was writing in the late 90s. He said to me,

“Believe me, Bogdan. I’m in my 80s now and I still don’t understand how humans capable of such beauty, can inflict such horror.”

I should add that I asked Pete if he knew about the camps. He said yes, they had heard the rumors, but when you are fourteen and in a war all you think about is survival. I was a green young man when I met Pete, but I clearly remember thinking it was my responsibility to understand and unravel Pete’s dilemma. It’s humbling how such encounters can define the perspective on your craft. I’m grateful for Pete and for Claude Lanzmann’s masterpiece “Shoah”.

We are all here to contribute to making the world what it is. Some call it destiny, others karma, social responsibility, religion, communism, capitalism, genocide in the name of an identity, love. The names for how one infuses life with meaning are countless. We give meaning to our circumstances in life without giving much thought to who, how and why organized the world and its hierarchies. I wish more of us would question the states quo. One should never seize to search for a deeper connection to the Divine, to that which we don’t comprehend, even to that which we so readily dismiss.

The mission of our film company Itchy Rodent Films is to heal and strengthen human relationships through cinema. I wish to treat everyone as if they are the audience of my films - together in the movie theater, falling in love with a well crafted image, with a journey that is shared. A film is as good as the people making and the people watching it. I am constantly learning from my interactions with my coworkers and the audience. It’s a two way street.

In our last poll 67% of you said you watch more documentaries these days…

I was born and grew up in communist Bulgaria and later emigrated to capitalist USA. This gives me a unique view of two software operating systems; sometimes at odds with each other; sometimes eerily similar. A virus. A blessing. There is no right or wrong answer to why society is as is. That’s a topic for a much longer discussion. As an immigrant living in the US for 29 years my profession is more than merely making films. It is a calling to build cultural bridges.

I can’t answer what other people think of me and why they love me. What do you think of me? And why do you love me?

Name at least five different topics you'd like to cover in a podcast interview and what will audience learn from it.

Having a purpose is your saving grace - I’d love to empower audiences to go for it! All the way! No fear. No holding back.
The best insurance to a happy life is to be a part of a thriving community - I will tell stories about community and let each listener get what they get out of it.
I’ve developed my own code of sanity and believe a daily routine guided by your purpose can do wonders for your mental health. Would be happy to share my best practices.
My first big short film wanted to be called “Listen”. It guided me to this name. Learning to listen to the lessons your craft will teach you is far more important than any schooling. My journey in film is my journey in film, one that holds many surprise turns for the listener.
I have only one year of college and have a healthy pessimism about the pros of higher education when it comes down to making films or to writing. I taught children and teens for three years. The experience really opened my eyes on how we can benefit our youth - a radical, total change of our education system is due.

What's been the biggest failure in your career and how did you solve it?

Getting in debt twice because of my films. Filing for bankruptcy because of my films or, I should say, because of my inability to separate art from business. I solved it by unwavering faith in God and her plan for me. The bottom line - I never went hungry no matter how broke, never had to sleep in the street. I was always loved.

Fun facts

favorite flower - Iglika (primrose)
the thing you enjoy the most - writing
favorite book - the one that hasn’t been written
favorite film - the one that hasn’t been made
favorite human epoch - 2024

Follow the pen (and the camera)

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