FESTIVALS: Bulgarian Shelter Grabs Top Sofia IFF Award
(SOFIA): Bulgarian director Dragomir Sholev and producer Rossitsa Valkanova accepted the Grand Prix of the 15th Sofia International Film Festival (4-13 March, www.siff.bg) for the debut feature film Shelter. Sholev…
The World is Big... Sells to North America
Berlin-based world sales company m-appeal (www.m-appeal.com) announced that it has closed a deal with Olive Film for the North American distribution rights of Stephan Komandarev's Bulgarian film The World is…
FESTIVALS: 12 Films Compete for Sofia Festival Grand Prix
Twelve films are competing in the main competition of the Sofia International Film Festival which runs 4-13 March 2011. For ninth consecutive year the Grand Prix Award will be handed…
Bulgarian Cable TV Fined
Bulgarian cable operator Blizoo received a fine from the Commission for Protection of Competition, the Bulgarian office responsible for monopoly oversight. Blizoo is the country's leading cable company.
PRODUCTION: Sofianites Too Much in Production
Production is underway on the new Bulgarian TV series Sofianites Too Much which is set to air in March 2011. The series, about two neighboring families, is is produced by…
Tilt Tops Bulgarian Box Office
SOFIA: Viktor Chouchkov Jr.'s debut film Tilt (www.tilt.bg) rose to the top spot on the Bulgarian box office on its opening weekend 11-13 February 2011), with 14,200 admissions and box…
Bulgaria Buys Turkish Soaps
Bulgaria has become the largest European buyer of Turkish soap operas, according to a Bulgarian National Radio report. Bulgaria acquired 27 Turkish soaps, followed by Macedonia with 17.
Mission London Tops Bulgarian 2010 Admissions
With 376,843 admissions Dimitar Mitovski's Mission London (www.mission-london.com) outperformed James Cameron's Avatar which ended the year with 300,205 admissions. However, Avatar earned €1,743,807 in box office, putting it in first…
Music Channel to Launch in Bulgaria
SOFIA: Telemaniac Media Group (www.telemaniac.net), a Bulgarian media group, will launch T-Rock TV, a music TV channel, on 10 February 2011.
Gardev Withdraws from Zinkograf
Bulgarian film and theatre director Javor Gardev (Zift) announced he will no longer direct Zinkograf, the futuristic psycho-thriller based on Vladislav Todorov's novel of the same name.
CME Ceases Broadcasts of Pro.BG
SOFIA: Central European Media Enterprises (www.cetv-net.com) is ending terrestrial broadcast of its Pro.BG station (www.probg.bg), the second most important channel of the group after bTV (www.btv.bg). Replacing it is entertainment…
National Distributors Promote New Bulgarian Titles
Bulgarian distributors are stepping up to distribute domestic films. Two companies, A Plus and Pro Films, are investing their own funds to continue support for Bulgarian films in 2011.
Bulgaria Downsizes Day of National Cinema
Bulgaria's Day of National Cinema, held on 13 January 2011, was a quieter event due to the funding difficulties the film industry faced over the past year. Taking place in…
Bulgarian DTT Tender Under Fire
Bulgaria's contested tender for DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television) multiplexes could be declared void by the European Commission. The Austrian Broadcasting Services, Oesterreichischer Rundfunksender (www.ors.at) , the original frontrunner, eventually withdrew…
Executive Director of Bulgaria's National Film Centre Resigns
SOFIA: The Executive Director of Bulgaria's National Film Centre (www.nfc.bg) Alexander Donev resigned on 23 December 2010. Donev was elected to the position in May 2009. It was the second…
FNE 2010 Year in Review: Bulgaria's Contradictory Year for Film
For the Bulgarian film industry 2010 was a year of high optimism and bitter disappointment at the same time. Optimism and pride in the industry's accomplishments hit the wall of…
Bulgarian Parliament Changes the Film Industry Act
SOFIA: An amendment to Bulgaria's Film Industry Act has provoked a wave of protest from Bulgarian filmmakers. The amendment paves the way for the reduction of funding for film production.
Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Culture Dismissed
Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov fired the deputy minister of culture Dimitar Dereliev immediately after a meeting between him and representatives of the film community on Saturday, 11 December 2010.
Bulgaria Postpones Digital Transition
Bulgaria has rescheduled analog switch off to early 2015, a postponement of two years. The European Commission has urged EU member states to complete the transition to digital by 1…
New CEO for Bulgaria’s Nova TV
SOFIA: Svetlana Vassileva has been appointed CEO of Modern Times Group's Bulgarian station, Nova TV. The appointment was announced on 19 October 2010.
