The three international competition programmes, for long documentary, medium-length documentary and short documentary, included a total of 26 films highlighting productions from Germany, Greece and Turkey.
Bulgarian documentary films were shown in the parallel programmes Bulgarian Panorama - Music and Focus New Bulgarian Cinema.
The programme also included a special VR programme and a workshop carried out with the financial support of the US Embassy in Bulgaria. The motto of this year's festival edition was Listen to the Music.
The festival is organised by Buldoc LTD and co-organised by the Goethe-Institut Bulgaria with financial support of the Bulgarian National Film Center and the Republic of Bulgaria Ministry of Culture, and in partnership with the Municipality of Smolyan, the Regional Library “Nikolay Vranchev” and the Rhodope Drama Theater “Nikolay Haitov” in Smolyan.
WINNERS:
Best International Long Documentary:
The Klezmer Project (Austria, Argentina)
Directed by Leandro Koch, Paloma Schachmann
Long Documentary Special Mentions:
Rob Goes (Switzerland)
Directed by Christian Labhart, Heidi Schmid
Flying with Fins (Bulgaria)
Directed by Maria Averina
Produced by Agitprop
Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center
Best International Medium-length Documentary:
Searching for Rodakis (Denmark, Turkey)
Directed by Kerem Soyyilmaz
Medium-length Documentary Special Mention:
The Wasp and the Orchid (Tunisia, France)
Directed by Saber Zammouri
Best International Short Documentary:
Sister of Mine (Poland)
Directed by Mariusz Rusiński
Short Documentary Special Mention:
My Grandma Tells (Bulgaria)
Directed by Desislav Atanasov
Аero Vision Special Awards:
Man under Surveillance (Bulgaria)
Directed by Dimitar Kotzev – Shosho
Produced by Kontraplan
Flying with Fins (Bulgaria)
Directed by Maria Averina
Produced by Agitprop
Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center
MS Studio Special Awards for an Innovative Approach:
Soldier of Fortune (Bulgaria)
Directed by Kasiel Noah Asher
Produced by Vortex & Kaos
Supported by the Sofia Municipality
Once Upon a Time in Paris (Bulgaria)
Directed by Andrey Chertov
Produced by A.M. STUDIO film production
Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center
