Ivan Popyordanov was born on August 14, 1938. He graduated in Prague in 1962, film and television technology. In 1963, he started working at the Cinema Center, which was being built at the time, and was its director from 1972 to 1979. Under his leadership, about 150 films were made. In 1997, he was briefly the deputy minister of culture, and in January 1998 he won the competition for general director of BNT. In the fall of the same year, he resigned due to his disagreement with the amendments to the Media Law adopted by the Parliament.
On May 5, 2013, his son - the talented actor from the National Theater Chocho Popjordanov - died in a ridiculous accident in the Boyan Cemetery. Three weeks earlier, Ivan Popyordanov also lost his wife, Dr. Ekaterina Popyordanova.
In a frank conversation especially for the readers of "Doctor" magazine, Ivan Popyordanov presented himself as a wife, father and grandfather in a close-knit family.
Hello, Mr. Popyordanov! How do you feel, you shared that you are getting old?
- Well, to the extent that I can't get enough of the granddaughter's energy. She is a lively and temperamental child. He had to quickly adjust to the day nursery, because grandpa was unable to make it, and mom was working. He always wants to sing. And when there is no one to sing, she sings to herself. May fate have mercy on her. May she be happy. She is loved. And mother Daniela is a very warm and positive person…
Do you think Chocho had a lot going on in the last year of his life? What broke it?
- Yes, that's right. In a short time he lost his two favorite "daskals", as he called Krikor Azarian and Todor Kolev. He did not spare them. You remember that he led the protests when they wanted to retire Koko as a teacher at NATFIZ. Don't put up with it. Suffer it. He also sent Andrey Batashov, with whom they were very similar in soul and destiny. Then his mother, Ekaterina, with whom he had an incredible relationship, passed away. He might look like me, but he was extremely close to her. Very heavy accumulations. He lived only 25 days after her passing. Now he rests beside her…
You wrote a book - "Letters to my Son" in which you actually described things you couldn't tell Chocho…
- And how! This is the thing I could do in memory of Chocho, and I think that somewhere, from above, he is looking down on me with satisfaction. And besides, he went to his mother, whom he loved very, very much!…
What does writing give you?
- Especially in the case of the book, it was a kind of form of psychotherapy for me. Because it was all so terrifying-losing your two closest people in less than three weeks-my wife and then my son-that somehow the writing process, the writing itself, felt like a visit to the psychiatrist's couch. To look for everything I've lost as an opportunity and as a conversation with the people closest to me.
And other people write, but theirs compared to your "Letters…" seem to be microscopic dust. What did your wife die of, excuse me for poking at your wound?
- Shortly before turning 60, my wife had a severe ischemic stroke
She was quite immobilized, had bilateral paresis. Thank God, there were no other defeats - in speech, in mental state. But one person who, as a doctor, was used to continuous contact with people and movement, felt terrible for 15 years… He took them out in a wheelchair…
Did you keep in touch with your colleagues?
- Oh sure! Katya was a very good pediatrician and in those years she had a practice in two hospitals. To her great joy, there were many mothers who trusted her with the he alth of their children in her hands - they consulted her at any time for anything, even if it was on the phone. They relied heavily, until her last day in fact, on her advice.
Couldn't the doctors help her?
- They helped her - physiotherapists, physiotherapists, rehabilitators came to her home. They kept her in relatively good shape and able to serve herself.
How did you feel in this situation?
- It was a great responsibility for me, as such a person, in such a position, should be looked after with dignity. So for 15 years I also took on other functions - a housewife, a person who supports the family, the house and cares for Katya.
I am not ashamed of these duties. She taught me to cook, and well. And now I do it - I'm a good cook, even a pastry chef. I enjoy cooking and I am of the principle that when you do something, you should do it willingly, with a lot of love.
As you get older, don't you avoid spicier foods?
- I have never been subjected to any diets, to a special regime. I'm a bit of a chaotic person. It's not that I don't recognize the benefit of he althy eating, but at the same time I think that
the body itself desires something and then throws it away
Moreover, I am no stranger to vices such as smoking and, in a sense, drinking from time to time.
Do you smoke a lot?
- Yes, it's been a while since I smoked. I am aware that it is contraindicated for me, but every time I give up, and every time I fail again. I know the story of some that a cigarette will not harm me more than the polluted air of Sofia, but I think they are wrong. There are much more polluted cities than ours. Yes, our capital is not like it was years ago – it is overpopulated, overloaded with means of transport, with dirt, with disrepair.
Resting at the villa…
- Yes, I have a wooden house in Sredna Gora, in the Etropolis Balkan, where escapes there are also a form of psychotherapy for me. I don't do anything there - I mow the lawn and take care of the flowers. It is very wild, but also beautiful, pleasant – it is my shelter in the mountains.
How is your he alth? Which doctors do you trust?
- I am extremely grateful to the doctors at the VMA skin clinic - wonderful specialists. They helped me a lot - I have had a problem for years, psoriasis has been tormenting me. I respect the medical profession very much and I hate the arbitrariness that some publications and journalists allow themselves to attack the medical guild, with or without reason. I think this is a manifestation of social and public irresponsibility.
Whenever I needed it, I received competent medical care.
I think we have wonderful doctors
and quite well developed medicine.
During my skin flare-ups, the dermatologists at the Military Hospital always helped me, for which I thank them. Unfortunately, talented doctors are leaving Bulgaria - there are many reasons, but low pay and insults towards them are the main ones. We do not value good specialists, we try to humiliate them in every possible way. This is the scariest thing about Bulgaria.
Is there he althcare in our country?
- Of course there is, and I think it's at a good level. I have relatives abroad and I know how critical they are of the so-called public he alth there.
Bulgarians have become very envious, careless towards each other - I don't want to see that in my life. And there is nothing scarier than death - I don't want to experience it again for some close people and friends.
