Boris Missirkov was born in Sofia in 1971. He studied at Bulgaria’s National School for Ancient Languages and Cultures from 1985 to 1990, the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts from 1991 to 1996, and the Fabrica research centre, in Italy, from 1997 to 1998. Missirkov followed this lofty path alongside Georgi Bogdanov (°1971) with whom he began working in 1994, co-founding the artistic duo AGITPROP as well as the Bulgarian Photography Association.
As a solo artist, Missirkov is celebrated as a cinematographer, director, visual artist and photographer, and a creator of visual campaigns, full-length documentaries, videos and short films. He was also the author of the first original Bulgarian content for the National Geographic Channel, Explore Bulgaria (2014–2019), co-producer of 15, the first Bulgarian omnibus film, and author of The Ladino Ladies’ Club (Bulgaria/USA, 2015), screened at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and the Warsaw Film Festival.
His duo, AGITPROP, uses portrait photography to play on 20th century photographic tropes. Be it through the lens of seriousness or levity, each immortalised subject is both a portrayal and a comment on the different social statuses that make up society. This effect is enhanced by the compositional elements the artists use to modify and amend their creation.
Among the most successful of AGITPROP’s films are: Georgi and the Butterflies (Silver Wolf, IDFA, 2004); The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories (Cannes, 2007; Grierson Award for Best Documentary, BFI London Film Festival); Corridor #8 (Independent Ecumenical Jury Award, Berlinale, 2008); The Boy Who Was a King (Toronto IFF, 2011). The duo were DOP of the first original Bulgarian productions for HBO, documentaries Concrete Pharaohs, Paradise Hotel (Golden Magnolia for best documentary; best documentary, Thessaloniki, 2010) and Dad Made Dirty Movies (Visions du Reel); the docu-series and feature Palace for the People (Dok Leipzig, 2018, Dok Buster Award) and their work has been broadcast on BBC, ARTE, MDR, SVT and NHK. They directed The Cars We Drove Into Capitalism (2021), and recently co-created Authors of The Sweetest Thing (650k views online), which was nominated for Best Bulgarian Short Film at the 2020 Sofia International Film Festival.
The duo has been featured in the following shows: Two Rooms, photographs and video, Exhibition for a single visitor, One Night Stand gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria; Hunting Trophys, installation – Contemporary Space Gallery, Varna, Bulgaria, (2020); 10 Snaps From Prague, photographs, Czech Cultural Center, Sofia, Bulgaria (2017); Missirkov/Bogdanov: Portraits ‘92 – ’13, Sofia City Art Gallery, Bulgaria, (2013); 4th Kilometre, Sofia Arsenal Museum of Contemporary Art – SAMCA, Bulgaria (2018); In The Beginning Was The Word, installation, Sofia University (in collaboration with Kiril Kuzmanov) (2013); 30 Years, Apollonia Festival, installation with vintage photographs, Vivacom Art Hall, Sofia, Bulgaria (2013); Cvetana Maneva – An Actress’ Portrait, Lucca Digital Photo Fest, Lucca, Italy, (2010); The Unloading, photo-sculpture, Cervantes Institute, Sofia, Bulgaria (2009); The Conductor, performance for video projection and 12 female folk singers, Schneider factory, Plovdiv, Bulgaria (2008); On the Tracks of the Bright Future, Sofia City Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria (2007); VIU Life, Venice International University, Italy (on permanent display) (2005).
