The Physics of Sorrow | La fisica della pena
Theodore Ushev
Canada | 2019 | 27’09 v.o. sott. ITA
Based on the novel by Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov, The Physics of Sorrow tracks an unknown man’s life as he sifts through memories of his youth in Bulgaria through to his increasingly rootless and melancholic adulthood in Canada.
Direction: Theodore Ushev
Animation: Theodore Ushev
Screenplay: Georgi Gospodinov, Mélanie Gleize, Theodore Ushev
Editing: Theodore Ushev
Sound Design: Olivier Calvert
Foley: Nicolas Gagnon
Foley Recording: Geoffrey Mitchell
Mix: Isabelle Lussier
Voice: Rossif Sutherland, Donald Sutherland, Theodore Ushev, Manuel Tadros
Producer: Marc Bertrand

Theodore Ushev
Theodore Ushev (1968, Kyustendil, Bulgaria) first made a name as a poster and graphic designer, before moving to Montreal in 1999. Famous all over the world for his powerful personal style reflecting numerous influences from the visual arts and literature. He makes various mediums collide – painting, collage, photography, live-action film, animation film – creating a polymorphous opus that’s an inspiration for many artists today. In the past 15 years, he has worked for the National Film Board of Canada. His creative biography contains more than 15 films, which brought him over 200 international awards, including an Oscar nomination for best animated short film for Blind Vaysha in 2017 and making it into the short list for the same award for The Physics of Sorrow in 2019. The Physics of Sorrow won the Grand Prize – Crystal of Annecy in 2020, where he has won four times during his career. Phi 1.618 (2022), a dystopian adventure film, is his first live-action feature film.