The proto-feminist war movie Voevoda is set in the Bulgarian resistance against the Ottoman Empire. This epic tells the historical life of Roumena, a Bulgarian woman who led insurgent ambushes and nighttime kidnapping raids against the occupying Turks. In Eastern Europe, the word voevoda generally means warlord; in the 19th Century Bulgarian context it means leader of a guerilla band.
19th Century Bulgaria is not the first place we would expect to find a woman warrior, and that’s what’s singular about Voevoda. Motivated by Ottoman atrocities, she leads the local men into violent rebellion and most of them accept her leadership.
Bulgaria under Ottoman repression was a harsh time and place. This is the first time that I’ve seen the Turkish torture of being hung upside by the feet and having the entire village marched by to spit on your exposed buttocks. Roumena was one tough cookie, however, and that’s exemplified in one fairly alarming standing childbirth scene.
Writer-director Zornitsa Sophia is a seasoned director. She stars here as Roumena in her first screen acting credit, and is believable as the strong-willed and hardened leader. Sophia’s real 12-year-old daughter plays the young Roumena in flashbacks. Valen Yordanov turns in a fine performance as Stoyan, Roumena’s longtime lover and stalwart.
Voevoda is a well-crafted epic film and succeeds in creating the veneer of historical authenticity. Cinequest hosts Voevoda’s US premiere.