1x1 With Kristian Harloff

Maria Bakalova knows what she’s doing when it comes to finding top-tier creative partners in film and television. As a student studying at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Bulgaria, she gravitated toward acclaimed filmmakers Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, a directing duo she still works with to this day. She met Julian Kostov in 2019 when he shared a casting notice for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, the movie that’d ultimately earn Bakalova an Oscar nomination. Now, Kostov is Bakalova’s producing partner. Under their Five Oceans banner they produced Triumph with Grozeva and Valchanov directing. The film was selected as the Bulgarian entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Next up on Bakalova’s list of dream collaborators she’s hoping to establish a long-standing creative partnership with? James Gunn. In fact, during her Collider Ladies Night interview, Bakalova noted, “If I have to choose one person that I want to stick with the rest of my life, it will be him.”Ba