26-02-2021

FESTIVALS: 25th Anniversary Sofia FF Announces Lineup

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    SOFIA: Twelve debut and sophomore films are included in the international competition of the 25th Anniversary Sofia International Film Fest. Four of them come from CEE countries, three from Westerns Europe, and one each from Turkey, China, Mongolia, Brazil, and Iran.

    As announced earlier, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the festival will take place in two steps: the first one running both physically and online 11-31 March 2021 and a second one, which will be announced in September 2021 and will hopefully include numerous international guests. Theatres are currently open at 30% of their capacity.

    A total of 70 titles will be available online and 129 titles will be screened in theatres in the cities of Sofia, Burgas, Plovdiv and Varna.

    The international jury will be headed by Bulgarian-born Canadian animated film director Theo Ushev, feature film directors Svetla Tsotsorkova from Bulgaria, Ilya Khrzhanovsky from Russia and Szabolcs Hajdu from Hungary, and actress Nataša Petrović from North Macedonia.

    Romania’s Cristi Puiu and UK Terry Gilliam will receive the FIPRESCI 96 Platinum Award. The Sofia Award will be given to Bulgarian composer and kaval player Theodosii Spassov.

    International Competition:

    Bedridden (Mongolia)
    Directed by Byamba Sakhya

    The Black Cat (Iran)
    Directed by Karim Mohammad Amini

    The Cemil Show (Turkey)
    Directed by Baras Sarhan

    German Lessons (Bulgaria, Germany)
    Directed by Pavel G. Vesnakov
    Produced by Moviemento, Heimathafen Film & Media
    Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center

    Luzzu (Malta)
    Directed by Alex Camilleri
    Produced by Noruz Films, Luzzu Ltd, Pellikola, Maborosi Films
    Supported by the Malta Film Fund and the financial incentives provided by the Malta Film Commission and the Government of Malta

    Petya of My Petya (Bulgaria)
    Directed by Alexander Kossev
    Produced by BOF Pictures
    Coproduced by Concept Studio
    Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center

    The Pink Cloud (Brazil)
    Directed by Iuli Gerbase

    Ravine (Hungary)
    Directed by Balázs Krasznahorkai
    Produced by Pipacs Films
    Coproduced by AGA Media
    Supported by the National Film Institute - Hungary

    Savage Days (France)
    Directed by David Lanzmann

    Spagat (Switzerland)
    Directed by Christian Johannes Koch

    The Shift (Latvia)
    Directed by Reinis Kalviņš
    Produced by Mistrus Media
    Coproduced by Picture House
    Supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation

    Wuhai (China)
    Directed by Zhou Ziyang