Patrick Smithuis is the author of a series of videos run on Youtube with the title The Truth about Bulgaria's Forests that show the bitter local reality as seen by a foreigner.
Patrick Smithuis first came to Bulgaria in 1992-1993 for joint work with Bulgarian textile companies. He later got into the construction and real estate business. Since 2007 he has been living in Bulgaria, is married to a Bulgarian woman and has two daughters. For a year now he has been active shooting documentaries and has also been involved in charity projects.
The inception of Patrick's documentaries was 50 km away from the city of Sofia at the southern edge of Iskar Dam. From that point he started a journey of Bulgaria asking questions… questions that most often get zero answers ... So far, Patrick has shot 14 films about various issues in the country - from problems with the construction of a landfill near the Iskar Dam to the problems of Bulgarian forests - their unlawful and widespread logging and the sale of timber for pennies.
Patrick Smithuis's first film My Personal Pain and Sorrow opens with that he has long accepted Bulgaria as his new homeland, and he often feels pain for what he sees every day. Since 1989 there have been hardly any positive changes happening here. Even after 25 years of transition the word jiggery-pokery still has a cult status at all levels of society. He wonders why young people leave for Europe or US and why the nature is ruined. What is the master plan for Bulgaria, Patrick asks with plenty of personal pain.
All films by Patrick Smithuis are available to watch at www.mynewhomeland.org
English: Daniela Konstantinova
At the end of the past week, 53 children from 21 Bulgarian Sunday schools participated in the ninth edition of the international reading competition in Bulgarian "Az Buki Vedi" for first and second grade students, which took place in..
The engineering plans for the expansion of the Bulgarian Centre in Billerica, New England, USA (BCNE), are ready. According to information from the centre's Facebook page, cited by BTA, the centre and the Bulgarian Church 'St. Petka' are now looking for a..
Summer, high temperatures, holiday mood. But unfortunately, summer brings not only positive emotions, but real and very serious problems. For example, last year, over 400 settlements throughout Bulgaria, including several major towns, remained "dry" or..
In a tradition that began informally over 40 years ago and has evolved over time , thousands of people crowded onto Bulgarian beaches on 1 July to welcome..
Partly Cloudy
Clear