Historical short filmed in Bulgaria marks new milestone for Gibraltar filmmaker Moe Acharki as it wins WLV Best Film Award

A king waits in a throne room as his kingdom falls apart around him.

Outside, an angry mob is closing in. Inside, those closest to him are not necessarily the people he can trust.

That is the setting for The Cost of the Crown, a seven-minute historical drama filmed at Nu Boyana Film Studios in Sofia, Bulgaria, using an Ancient Rome set previously seen in major productions.

The short film was shot in a single day in June 2023 but completed almost three years later, after its Gibraltar filmmaker Moe Acharki returned to the project following work on another short film.

He tells the Chronicle, the official synopsis for the film is, “With his kingdom in tatters and his subjects baying for his blood, the king hides in his throne room praying for a last-minute reprieve. But with the mob at the door, who can he trust?”

“His spoiled wife expects him to murder anybody who would do him harm, while his chief advisor plots from the shadows.”

“Powerless, naive, and scared, will the king live long enough to learn the true cost of his crown?”

“The Cost of the Crown is a historical drama about betrayal, class, and the inevitable corruption that ultimate power brings,” he added.

It premiered at a film festival in Watford on April 23 this year, where it won the Best Cinematography Award.

Its next screening took place at the WLV Screen Awards 2026 at the Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton on June 3, where it won the Best Film Award, bringing the project to a city with a personal connection for the filmmaker. He was accompanied by Tobi Awolesi (the graphic designer for the film) and Harry Foulger (sound designer for the film) to the award ceremony.

“This selection is quite meaningful to me as I did my university degree in Film and Television Production at the University of Wolverhampton where I made my first two official short films,” he said.

“The fact that my latest short film is being screened in the city of Wolverhampton where I filmed my first ever official film A Part of it All (also available on YouTube and Vimeo) is quite poetic to me.”

“My work has come full-circle.”

The origins of The Cost of the Crown go back to a year-long internship at Nu Boyana Film Studios, where he worked as a trainee in the Distribution Department on productions including The Expendables 4, The Bricklayer, The Piper and Refuge.

His work at the studio also included a role as a production assistant on the Paramount+ film Shadow Land, starring Jon Voight.

But after working as a production assistant on three films, he began to realise that being a Production Assistant wasn't necessarily what he wanted to do and directing was what he was truly passionate about.

“My boss in Distribution was aware that my main passion was film directing so, since I was working at a major film studio, he encouraged me to use the resources around me and direct my own short film,” he said.

The studio offered several possible locations, including a New York City exterior set and a London St Paul’s Cathedral set.

But it was the Ancient Rome set that caught his attention.

“I had the idea to have a king as the main protagonist, hiding for his life, with his kingdom coming after him, and how the people around him influence the decisions he makes, and the inner battle he has to go through where he has to choose the people of his kingdom, or his malicious wife and regent,” said Mr Acharki.

The first draft of the script was written in a single day.

He then brought in his frequent collaborator, award-winning writer Mat Growcott, to rework the screenplay.

Mr Growcott kept the characters, story and themes but gave the script a new structure intended to make it more cinematic, focused and practical to film.

With a stringent deadline of one month to complete the project he began assembling a cast and crew immediately.

“My boss gave me a tight deadline of 1-month to have the film finished, so I started assembling a whole cast and crew in order to create it,” he said.

“I got a lot of industry professionals who I had met working on the various film projects in Bulgaria. Examples include Cinematographer Ioan Banzourkov, who was an Assistant Director on many projects such as Hellboy (2019), Angel Has Fallen (2019), & Rambo: Last Blood (2019). At the time of filming, he has just finished being the Data Manager for Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024).”
“My Steadicam Operator was Erik Bassan, who, after working on my film, was part of the Camera Crew for Edgar Wright's The Running Man (2025).”

“Even for SFX, our Pyrotechnician was Zarko Karatanchev who did the pyrotechnics for films like The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017).”

“These individuals are only a few examples,” he added.

The production also drew on props used in other projects filmed at Nu Boyana.

One of the swords used in The Cost of the Crown had previously been used by Jason Momoa in Conan the Barbarian.

Securing equipment for the shoot led to a second project.

After he asked the studio’s chief executive for help obtaining authorisation to use equipment from different departments, he was offered a deal.

“He explained to me that there are some students who were doing a course in the in-house Vocational Training Centre, and he would love it if they gained some on-set experience and asked me if I could direct a second film with the students as the primary crew,” he said.

“If I do this, he'll ensure I get the equipment I needed for The Cost of the Crown.”

“Of course, I agreed. But since I was deep in the pre-production for The Cost of the Crown, I asked my frequent collaborator Mat Growcott if he can write the script for this second short film, which would later become my short film The Haunted House Hotel.”

“I now found myself working on 2 films simultaneously.”

The Haunted House Hotel was shot first over two 12-hour days.

It later screened at several festivals, including the Academy Award-qualifying IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival, and was subsequently released on YouTube.

The day after filming wrapped on that project, the team moved on to The Cost of the Crown.

The historical drama was filmed over a single 13-hour day on Saturday, June 17, 2023.

Mr Growcott travelled from the UK to Bulgaria to assist with the filming, and they “managed to get everything done.”

After the shoot, attention turned to editing, completing and promoting The Haunted House Hotel.

As a result, post-production on The Cost of the Crown was placed on hold.

“Towards the end of 2025, I committed myself to finally getting The Cost of the Crown editing, finalised, and showcased in various festivals and exhibitions. The film was finished and ready by March 2026,” he said.

Its Watford premiere took place the next month, where it won the Best Cinematography Award.

“I have submitted it to many festivals, so we'll see what selections it manages to gain,” he said.

“In the future, I'd love to showcase it, as well as the rest of my short films in my home of Gibraltar.”

“This will be something I will look into soon.”

He is also considering what comes next.

Two projects are in their early stages, “A potential documentary in Gibraltar, and secondly, a feature film that I'm looking to potential film in Tangier, Morocco, the latter, myself and my collaborator Mat Growcott, have already started having discussions about.”

“Time will tell where these will go,” he said.