BOX OFFICE: Domestic Films Break into Bulgaria’s 2025 Top Ten Despite Falling Admissions
Bulgaria 04-02-2026SOFIA: Social teen drama One Gram of Life / Edin gram zhivot by Atanas Mihailov was the most-watched domestic film in Bulgarian cinemas in 2025. The film produced by Cinema Academy for Talents Bulgaria and released by Аlexandra Films came 5th in the overall box office.
PRODUCTION: Martin Markov’s Bulgarian The Life We Never Had Moves into Postproduction
Bulgaria 21-01-2026SOFIA: Bulgarian director Martin Markov is currently in postproduction with his debut feature The Life We Never Had, which is a national coproduction backed by the Bulgarian National Film Center.
PLOVDIV: The 29th Golden Rhyton Festival of Bulgarian Documentary and Animated Film will take place from 17 to 22 December 2025 in Plovdiv, screening 59 films across its two official competitions.
SOFIA: The Balkan Documentary Center (BDC) supports filmmakers, journalists, and activists across the region through its programmes. For the fourth consecutive year, the Balkan Documentary Market served as a professional platform for regional collaboration, networking, and coproduction opportunities.
BURGAS: Producer and journalist Sevda Shishmanova has started shooting her debut feature, Remains of Life. The filming of this Bulgarian/German joint is taking place in Bulgaria and Israel.
VARNA: Мade in EU by Stephan Komandarev won the Best Film Award at the 43th Golden Rose National Film Festival, which was held in Varna 16 – 23 September 2025. The film also received the Best Actress Award and the Youth Jury Award.
VENICE: Heretic is in negotiations for the first sales of Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev’s Made in EU, acquired ahead of its world premiere in the Spotlight section of the Venice Film Festival (27 August – 6 September 2025). The film is a coproduction between Bulgaria, Germany, Czech Republic, and Turkey.
VARNA: A total of 17 feature films, 25 short fiction films and two fiction TV series will screen in the three official competitions of the 43rd Golden Rose Bulgarian Feature Film Festival, which takes place in Varna from 16 to 23 September 2025.
SOFIA: The Armenian/German coproduction Landshaft by Daniel Kötter received the award for best international long documentary at the 5th edition of the Rhodope International Documentary Film Fest (RIFE), held in the Bulgarian town of Smolyan from 10 to 13 July 2025.
SOFIA: The historical feature Pilots directed by Anri Koulev and supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center is welcoming coproducers sharing the passion for flight and pilot films, which are according to the director “a separate genre with its own huge audience”.

