He is young, talented, ambitious and confident that he would fulfil his childhood dream. His name is Dimitar Petrov - animator and creator of the "Golden Apple" project. He was born in Sofia, but because of the dynamic way of life of his parents, before he turned 16 he had the opportunity to live and feel the atmosphere of over 14 different Bulgarian towns and cities. Some of them are situated in the Rhodopes, others in north-western Bulgaria – all of them magical places. Dimitar Petrov, or Mitko as people call him, told us whether they had an influence on him.

"I grew up in a variety of mountain towns where people talk about fairies, dragons and all types of myths and legends to this very day... For a child it is always interesting to change the environment, and the Rhodopes are very beautiful. Although I was young, I still remember impressive landscapes and views. When I went to study in England, I realized that one of the things that I miss the most is the mountains. Only then I realized that the Rhodope Mountains, Stara Planina, Rila, Pirin are an exceptional wealth."

Dimitar graduated from the Westminster University. While studying he also worked as an animator in giants like Cartoon Network Studios Europe.

"While working in this studio, I started the development of the ‘Golden Apple’ because I saw how such a product was actually created. The studio spoiled the magic as I grew up with its cartoons, but on the other hand it showed me that this was not actually magic, but a well-organized process that required a lot of knowledge and training. It is not impossible to create such products in Bulgaria. In London I noticed that everyone knows about fairies, dragons, elves, but no one had heard of samodivas, zmeys, or mummers. Then I got the idea to create Bulgarian animated fantasy series, inspired by the Bulgarian and Balkan folklore and mythology. So I returned to Bulgaria - to make some studies on the spot. This allowed me to meet a lot of young people seeking to show their talents."

Elena Rapondzhieva, who also graduated from a university in the UK, joined the project. She also became its producer. The visual style of the series has been developed with the help of chief designer Svetla Radivoeva. She created the image of main character Vihra who has a cloud on her head instead of hair. She also provided guidance regarding the costumes of the female characters. Currently, Svetla is working as an animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios. At the beginning the team of "Golden Apple" involved four people and today about 20 enthusiasts work on the series. Very soon, viewers will be able to enjoy the results of this hard work.

Mitko told us more about the project’s cause:

“The project actually has two causes. The main cause is to show a slightly different side of Bulgarian and Balkan culture as a whole. We wanted to create series that focus on the most positive aspects of Bulgarian social psychology. We wanted to present Bulgarian mythology and folklore that preserved us as a nation in a more comprehensible language for the new generations. The other aim is to provide a platform for talented young Bulgarians, animators, designers, artists. We want the "Golden Apple" to become just the beginning of a beautiful, modern and competitive Bulgarian product that is to present our culture in the most positive way, and will make a path for other projects in the future. A number of good things happen in Bulgaria. We just need to find and show them,” says Dimitar Petrov.

English: Alexander Markov