The international jury headed by directors Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, including film critic Petia Alexandrova and actor Velizar Binev from Bulgaria, producer Laszlo Kantor from Hungary, and film critic and industry expert Edvinas Pukšta from Lithuania, liked the director’s “ability to treat serious problems ironically”. The Union of Bulgarian Filmmakers Award also awarded Fear with its traditional prize. Svetlana Yancheva, who performs the lead part in the film became Best Actress and was praised for her ”frank and harsh performance without any vanity or compromise”. The Best Actor award went to Ivan Barnev for his “authentic, minimalist and powerful performance in Blessed Are the Meek (Screening Emotions).
The Jury’s Special award went to Ivan Vladimirov’s Scenes from the Life of an Actress (Gala Film). Vladimirov, for whom this is the first film he directed on his own after the 2011 Sneakers (codirected with Valeri Yordanov and produced by Gala Film), was also awarded Best Director and Best Scriptwriter.
The City of Varna Special Award went to Viktor Chouchkov’s 18% Grey, a European coproduction between Bulgaria, Germany, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Belgium.
Yana Titova’s A Dose of Happiness (No Blink Studio and bTV Studios) received the Best Debut award, while Rumen Vasilev became Best DoP for Danny. Legend. God (Shipka Ltd) .
The members of the Bulgarian Critics Guild voted for Dimitar Radev’s feature debut Dante’s Heaven (produced by PREMIERstudio) and A Night Shift, a short directed by Eddy Schwartz and Yordan Petkov.
The whole crew of Blessed Are the Meek received a Special Mention for its exceptional efforts in “completing a complex project of silent human kindness”.
The Golden Rose for Best Short Film was not awarded.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS:
Grand Prix for Best Feature Film:
Fear (Bulgaria)
Directed by Ivailo Hristov
Produced by Pro Film
Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center
Grand Prix for Best Short Fiction Film:
Not awarded
Jury Special Award:
Scenes From the Life of an Actress (Bulgaria)
Directed by Ivan Vladimirov
Produced by Gala Film, the Bulgarian National Television
Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center
City of Varna Special Award:
18% Grey (Bulgaria, Germany, Serbia, North Macedonia, Belgium)
Directed by Viktor Chouchkov Jr.
Produced by Chouchkov Brothers (Bulgaria), the Bulgarian National Television, Ostlicht Filmproduktion (Germany), Cinnamon Films (Serbia), Sektor Film (North Macedonia), Raised by Wolves (Belgium)
Best Director Award:
Ivan Vladimirov for Scenes From the Life of an Actress
Best Script Award:
Ivan Vladimirov for Scenes From the Life of an Actress
Best Cinematography Award:
Rumen Vasilev for Danny. Legend. God (UK, Bulgaria)
Directed by Yavor Petkov
Produced by Shipka Ltd (UK) and coproduced by Debut Film EOOD (executive producer for Bulgaria)
Best Actress Award:
Svetlana Yancheva for Fear
Best Actor Award:
Ivan Barnev for Blessed Are the Meek
Best Debut Feature:
A Dose of Happiness
Directed by Yana Titova
Produced by No Blink Studio, bTV Studios
Special Mentions:
Katerina Lipovska and Adelia Ocleppo for Pelican Blood (Germany, Bulgaria)
Directed by Katrin Gebbe
Produced by Junafilm (Germany), Miramar (Bulgaria)
Blessed Are the Meek
Directed by Gueorgui Stoyanov and Wojciech Todorow
Produced by Screening Emotions
The Union of Bulgarian Filmmakers Award:
Fear (Bulgaria)
The Critics Guild Award:
Dante’s Heaven (Bulgaria)
Directed by Dimitar Radev
Produced by PREMIERstudio
Audience Award:
Last Call (Bulgaria)
Directed by Ivaylo Penchev
Produced by Urban Media / Cinemaq
Special Mention to Short Film:
Eggshells
Directed by Slava Doytcheva
