SOFIA: Bulgarian director Nikolay Stefanov follows the reopening of the cold case of his father’s killing 30 years ago in a documentary, while also exploring the ideas of masculinity and fatherhood. Making Friends with the Idea of a Father, which is currently in production, won the Award of the Institute of Documentary Film at the 28th Baltic Sea Docs Forum (1 – 6 September 2024).

VARNA: Triumph by Kristina Grozeva and Peter Valchanov won the Best Film Award at the 42nd Golden Rose National Film Festival, which was held in Varna 19 – 26 September 2024. The film also received the Best Screenplay Award, the Best Actress Award (Maria Bakalova and Margita Gosheva), the Union of Bulgarian Filmmakers Award and the Audience Award.

VARNA: A total of 16 feature films, 19 short fiction films and five fiction TV series are screening in the three official competitions of the 42th Golden Rose Bulgarian Feature Film Festival, which is taking place in Varna from 19 to 26 September 2024.

VARNA: The Japanese short film A Night at the Rest Area by Saki Muramoto won the Grand Prix at the 20th anniversary edition of the World Festival of Animated Film Varna, which screened 70 films in seven categories.

VARNA: The Argentinian/German coproduction Adios Buenos Aires by German Kral received the Grand Prix Golden Aphrodite at the 32nd edition of the International Film Festival Love is Folly, which took place in Varna 23 August – 1 September 2024.

SOFIA: Bulgarian screenwriter/director Yordan Petkov is currently in production with his first feature film Resonance, which is a coproduction between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. The project is supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center and has won several awards at pitching contests.

SOFIA: The Austrian/Argentinian coproduction The Klezmer Project by Leandro Koch and Paloma Schachmann received the award for best international long documentary at the 4th edition of the Rhodope International Documentary Film Fest in Smolyan (RIFE),  held in the Bulgarian town of Smolyan from 11 to 14 July 2024.

SOFIA: The Bulgarian/German coproduction German Lessons by Pavel Vesnakov received the award for Best Feature Film at the 3rd edition of the Sveti Vlas Film Fest. Stephan Komandarev won Best Director for his Bulgarian/German coproduction Blaga's Lessons, and both films shared the accolades for actors in a leading role.

SOFIA: Thirteen Bulgarian films will vie in the various competitions of the 21st IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival, the only festival in Bulgaria certified to nominate professional short films for consideration by the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the Academy Awards. The festival is held in the town of Pernik from 29 June to 6 July 2024.

SOFIA: Pavel G. Vesnakov’s sophomore feature Windless has been picked up by Alpha Violet ahead of its world premiere in the Proxima Competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (28 June - 6 July 2024). The film is a Bulgarian/Italian coproduction.