CAT IN THE WALL

Director's Statement

CAT IN THE WALL, set on a council estate in modern day London, deals with the impossible relationship between migrants and locals, and the threat gentrification brings to communities living on social welfare.Media manipulations on the eve of Brexit caused a sharp increase in racist violence and hate speech throughout Britain, especially towards economic migrants. I, Mina Mileva have been an economic migrant there for more than 20 years. I’m in love with Britain and its famous culture of acceptance, tolerance and humour. I escaped the ugly face of post-Communist Capitalism in Bulgaria and have enjoyed professional fulfillment on the island. For me this film is lamenting the loss of compassion and normality that I first found there.The script is based on my personal experience and events taking place in my neighbourhood.An astronomic service charge bill and a row about a stolen cat characterised the absurd situation I have found myself in and provided for an unusual narrative. Vesela and I decided to stay in one place, one apartment. These semi-claustrophobic settings helped us study the nuanced process of dehumanisation. A process spiced up with every-day-racism and prejudies and deeply caused by fear of losing social assets.One of the most important challenges for us as directors was to preserve the authenticity of events and people from that enclave and to represent it correctly. We choose a combination of actors and non-actors and lead them through a demanding casting and rehearsal process in order to preserve the life-like feel.