Made in EU

When a mysterious illness threatens the residents of a small village, one woman suddenly finds herself at the center of a storm of fear and suspicion. Iva (powerfully portrayed by Gergana Pletnyova), a seamstress in a remote Bulgarian garment factory, is revealed to be the village’s first COVID-19 patient. As the factory owners shirk responsibility and her coworkers (along with her own son) begin to turn away from her, Iva struggles to preserve her dignity while enduring exploitative conditions and long hours. With a stark, claustrophobic color palette and restrained yet powerful cinematography, Bulgarian writer-director Stephan Komandarev captures both the harsh realities of Europe’s textile industry and the social isolation a pandemic can expose. The result is a sharp, compelling, and timeless portrait of survival, solidarity, and the fight for dignity on Europe’s margins.