“Flying with Flippers” – A Documentary about Alzek Misheff and a Meeting with Director Maria Averina
17 November 2026, 6:00 PM
On 17 November 2026, at 6:00 PM, Art Gallery – Ruse will present “Flying with Flippers”, a documentary film directed by Maria Averina and dedicated to the life and work of Alzek Mishev – an artist whose international career spans painting, conceptual art, performance and musical experimentation.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with director Maria Averina, offering the audience an opportunity to learn more about the making of the film, her encounters with the artist, and the challenge of telling the story of such an extraordinary creative journey.
Alzek Mishev is also expected to join the event online, giving those present the opportunity to speak directly with him and ask questions about art, freedom and the experiences that have become part of his artistic practice.
About the Film
“Flying with Flippers” traces Alzek Mishev’s artistic journey from Bulgaria to Italy and back. In 1971, the artist left Bulgaria and settled in Milan, where he became actively involved in the European avant-garde art scene.
The film explores his artworks, performances and experiments, as well as the personal story behind them. Moving through different places and periods, it introduces people who have been part of the artist’s life and follows his return to Bulgaria after half a century abroad.
At its heart is the question of artistic freedom and the ability of art to challenge conventional notions of what is possible.
About Alzek Mishev
Alzek Mishev was born in 1940 in Dupnitsa, Bulgaria. He graduated in painting from the National Academy of Art in Sofia. In 1971, he emigrated to Italy, where he developed an international career and established himself as a prominent figure in the European avant-garde.
As early as 1976, Italian art critic Achille Bonito Oliva included him among thirty significant European artists in his study of the European and American avant-garde.
His artistic actions frequently challenge the boundaries between reality and imagination. In “Music from the Sky” (1979), sounds were transmitted across an urban space using large balloons. In “Swimming Across the Atlantic” (1982), the artist undertook a symbolic crossing of the ocean by swimming in the swimming pools aboard the transatlantic liner Queen Elizabeth 2 during its voyage from Southampton to New York.
In 2021, the National Gallery in Sofia presented his major retrospective exhibition “Aqui – Milano – Sofia”. In 2025, he was awarded the honorary title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the National Academy of Art.
About the Director
Maria Averina graduated in Film and Television Directing from New Bulgarian University and holds a Master’s degree in Documentary Filmmaking from Royal Holloway, University of London. She has participated in the Sarajevo Talent Campus and Berlinale Talents. Her feature-length debut, “From Cremona to Cremona”, received the Bulgarian Film Academy Award for Best Documentary Film.
With “Flying with Flippers”, the director turns her attention to the personality and creative world of Alzek Mishev, exploring the connections between his artistic ideas, life choices and personal experiences.
Following the screening, Maria Averina will meet the audience at the gallery to talk about her work on the film and her encounters with the artist. The discussion will explore both Alzek Mishev’s artistic practice and the ways in which documentary cinema can portray a life in which art and reality are constantly intertwined.
If the anticipated online connection with Alzek Mishev takes place, the audience will also have the opportunity to address questions directly to the artist.
Film Details
“Flying with Flippers”
Bulgaria, 2023, 81 minutes
Director: Maria Averina
Screenplay: Mariana Svetoslavova, Maria Averina
Cinematography: Georgi Bogdanov, Boris Misirkov
Music: Petar Dundakov
Production: AGITPROP – Martichka Bozhilova
With the support of the Bulgarian National Film Center.
The film received the Award for Best Bulgarian Documentary at Master of Art 2024.
