Director Ilian Metev attaches three cameras to the dashboard of one of Sofia’s few remaining ambulances (1.2 million people live in the Bulgarian capital). In doing so, he commands a precise view of the medic team: Dr. Krassimir Yordanov, paramedic Mila Mikhailova, and driver Plamen Slavkov. What we see is human, increasingly stressful, and immensely absorbing. What could be claustrophobic is instead spectacularly intimate, undoubtedly benefited by Krassimir, Mila, and Plamen’s natural ease in front of the cameras. Not an overly voluble group, their keenly expressive faces tell most of the story, that of a city’s crumbling healthcare system. Sporadic radio dispatches and a steady stream of cases (some absurdly comical, others expectedly tragic) fill in any gaps. As we ride with the ambulance team into the sunrise, we feel a melancholy comfort in the stoic fortitude of these public servants and a sense that everything will be okay.  WFM