Alexander Perpeliev

The Pedantic Auteur – Alexander Perpeliev

He likes to learn something new every day and has the biography to prove it. A trained lawyer and screenwriter , journalist of fifteen-year standing, formereditor-in-chief of the left-wing Duma daily and deputy editor ofthe business-oriented Cash, father of three children, an avid collector of stamps and rare coins (a philatelist and numismatist, if you prefer), bibliophile, hunter and outdoorsman, he is a hard man to pin down as his hobbies and interests are legion. Alexander’s greatest passion however is reserved for history and documentary cinema, preferably in combination. His life revolves around historical documenaries and he will often be seen ploghing through hundreds of pages of material to get that one crucial fact upon which his latest project will turn. Not for him the accessible source or the easy explanation. He likes to examine the objects of his enquiry with surgical precision, often enthusing about some point of minor importance and in the process, boring everyone else around him to death. One thing is certain though – with him inaccuracies are at an absolute minimum. Alexander is conversant in English, German, Russian and Spanish and has a grasp of Latin.Even though his Hebrew is not of a comparable standard, he knows enough to get into trouble. He is on friendly terms with most senior clergymen of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church but has not yet had the chance to fulfil one of his abiding dreams – to spend some time at Mount Athos, the Orthodox monastic republic. Still, he leaves no terrae incognitae in his wake – such is his passion for discovery that every new documentary project is a challenge, affording him the opportunity to delve into new and unexplored territories. Alexander is possessed of a phenomenal memory that is the target of frequent misuse by his friends. He was genuinely pleased by the advent of Google, which has given him some respite. Alexander wrote numerous documentaries, among them Sofia – the History of Europe, Batak – Valley of the Saints, Varna – Prima Europaea, Asenovgrad – Heavenly Jerusalem and many more.