How to Conquer Sofia

Zlatka Raykova is Roza, an unstoppable small-town beauty determined to be seen at any cost. For her, life only makes sense if it looks good on camera, and Sofia is her Bulgarian New York, waiting to be conquered.

Beside her is Marko, played by Tsetso Andreev: her rough, down-to-earth and painfully authentic husband. He cannot understand why Roza keeps directing their lives, or why he is always the one she cuts out of the picture. When they trade their sheep for a battered van and leave Koynare, Marko thinks he is escaping the relatives. Roza believes she is on her way to fame.

An unexpected car accident brings them face to face with George — or simply Gosho — a master of public image. He sees Roza as the perfect new face of politics: ambitious, unpredictable and just “real” enough to be sold to all of Bulgaria.

As Roza turns from influencer into national phenomenon, her rivals turn Marko into her political opponent. Husband and wife find themselves on opposite sides of the television screen, armed with false biographies, rehearsed lines and ambitions bigger than themselves.

When Roza declares Gucci and Dior to be social essentials, the interview becomes a sensation, the sensation becomes a campaign, and a family quarrel becomes a fight for power.

How to Conquer Sofia is a bold Balkan comedy about love, fame and politics in the age of social media. Zlatka Raykova and Tsetso Andreev plunge into an extraordinary family war, from the village yard to parliament.

Will they conquer Sofia… or will Sofia conquer them?