Young Joan Karamfilov and his classmate Ivan Rankov star alongside Hollywood's Armand Assante in a Rin Tin Tin remake, currently shooting in Bulgaria.

"I never actually learned English, it's like a gift," eleven-years-old Karamfilov says without a trace of accent. "Most of the things I know came from Cartoon network."

Rankov and Karamfilov play two kids, who live generations away but something links them through time - the story of a German Shepherd - Rin Tin Tin. The two seem to have tremendous fun on the set. Apart from being a good reason to skip school they treasure the opportunity to work together and find their job a very attractive one.

"They are fantastic," Director Danny Lerner says, "working with them has been great." Lerner appreciates working with all Bulgarians on the set "probably more than 95% of the crew is Bulgarian", and speaks highly of all of them. Producer Les Weldon agrees, complimenting the flawless English of Karamfilov.

Indeed, everything on the set seems to run smoothly and after yells for silence in a couple of languages, the camera rolls again. Even though Karamfilov is not one to show partiality, his classmate Rankov shares his favorite scene: "It was when they had to throw lettuce at me and some plates fell over my head."

Add to this a world-class actor like Assante, a loveable dog, a heart-warming script and the future of Bulgaria's movie industry doesn't seem so grim anymore.