Shhh… It’s time for cinema. We will be together again in the movie theaters, united despite our differences.
The 29th Sofia International Film Festival will welcome its audience from 13 to 31 March 2025 – the official opening will take place on 13 March in Hall 1 at the National Palace of Culture (NDK), with the world premiere of director Svetoslav Ovcharov’s latest film “Bet”.
We look forward to welcoming you in the cinemas in Sofia as well as at the special screenings in Plovdiv, Burgas, and Varna, where audiences can experience cinematic stories together and meet many of their creators. We are also excited to host the authors of the selected works in the competitive programs, who will present them personally to the Bulgarian audience, as well as many internationally renowned guests with their latest films.
The festival is organized by Art Fest under the patronage of the Sofia Municipality, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Bulgarian National Film Center, and the European Union’s MEDIA Creative Europe program, in partnership with the National Palace of Culture, cultural institutions, sponsors, partners, and friends.
We present you with some of the highlights of the 29th Sofia Film Festival's program, the full details of which will be announced at the end of February.
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This year’s festival focuses on Bulgarian cinema. The program will feature a record number of Bulgarian fiction, documentary, and short films, as well as international co-productions with Bulgarian participation – nearly 70 in total. Almost 50 of these films will have their world or Sofia premiere at the festival. The majority of them are co-financed by the Bulgarian National Film Center, which is a testament to the vitality and enduring role of our national film institution. Apart from the specialized national festivals for fiction (the Golden Rose) or non-fiction (the Golden Riton) cinema, Sofia Film Festival is undoubtedly Bulgaria’s international film festival – since its inception, it has prioritized presenting Bulgarian cinema in an international context as well as promoting it worldwide through the professional event Sofia Meetings.
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The 29th Sofia Film Festival will officially open on 13 March in Hall 1 at the NDK with the world premiere of the fiction film “Bet” by director Svetoslav Ovcharov. In the leading roles of this historical drama, we will see Asen Blatechki, Zahari Baharov, and the Romanian actress Ofelia Popii. Also featured are Deyan Donkov, Ivan Savov, Stefan Mavrodiev, and others. The film is a co-production between Bulgaria and Romania, supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center.
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One of the emblematic names in Bulgarian cinema – actor Iossif Surchadzhiev – will receive the Sofia Municipality Award for his contribution to the art of cinema. The plaque is the work of the renowned sculptor Georgi Chapkanov – Chapa.
This award will also be presented to the legendary Croatian director Rajko Grlić, who will be one of the festival’s special guests. He will showcase several of his most significant works, as well as his latest film “It All Ends Here”, a co-production between Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Turkey, supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center. Rajko Grlić will also conduct a master class as part of Sofia Meetings.
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For the 23rd time, an international jury will determine the Grand Prize in the competition for a debut or sophomore narrative film “Sofia – City of Film”, sponsored by the Sofia Municipality.
The program includes 12 films, and for the first time, three of them are Bulgarian! Here are some of the confirmed competition films:
● “Cat’s Cry” – Serbia–Canada–Croatia, director Sanja Zivkovic
● “Die Like a Man” – USA, director Erik Nazarayan
● “Eternity Package” – Bulgaria–Italy, director Magdalena Ilieva
● “Flesh” – Bulgaria, director Dimitar Stoyanovich
● “Hallway to Nowhere” – Croatia, director Zvonimir Munivrana
● “Honeymoon” – Ukraine, director Zhanna Ozirna|
● “Under the Grey Sky” – Poland, director Mara Tomkovich
● “Windless” – Bulgaria–Italy, director Pavel G. Vesnakov
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The Balkan Competition features 12 of the most successful films from the region. Among the selected titles are:
● “The Erl-King” – Serbia–Bulgaria, director Goran Radovanovic
● “Giannis in the Cities” – Greece, director Eleni Alexandrakis
● “Luna Park” – Albania–Italy–Croatia–Greece–Kosovo, director Florent Papas
● “Mother Mara” – Serbia–Slovenia–Switzerland–Bosnia and Herzegovina–Montenegro–Luxembourg, director Miryana Karanovich
● “Traffic” – Romania–Belgium–Netherlands, director Teodora Mihay
● “Triumph” – Bulgaria–Greece, directors Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov
● “Waterdrop” – Albania–Italy–Romania, director Robert Budina
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The 23rd Competition for Bulgarian Short Films will present 12 films, selected by a jury composed of directors Konstantin Bojanov, Radostina Neykova, and Orlin Milchev (the 2024 award recipient). For the sixth consecutive year, the award — valued at 9,500 euros (1,500 euros in cash and 8,000 euros in post-production services) — is provided by Doli Media Studio. The selected films are:
● “Chapter 6” – Director Ivaylo Minov, 20 min.
● “Dark Room” – Director Yulian Rachev, 11 min.
● “Dear You” – Director Tanya Bozhinova, 8 min.
● “Echo” – Director Angel Radev, 29 min.
● “Hawaii” – Director Radoslav Kamburov, 13 min.
● “Metamorphosis” – Bulgaria–Italy, directors Tomazo Mazzarini and Veselin Nedelchev, 20 min.
● “Nicole” – Director Elena Toncheva, 23 min.
● “Posterity” – Director Emil Aleksandrov, 20 min.
● “Silt” – Director Katya Simeonova, 23 min.
● “The Spiral Between Sound and Silence” – Director Kristina Georgieva, 20 min.
● “What Stays After” – Director Dimitris Georgiev, 20 min.
● “The Weed’s Gardener” – Director Asya Kovanova, 12 min.
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Among the premieres already announced for the festival are:
● Cannes award-winner “Everything We Imagine As Light” by Payal Kapadia
● “Armand” by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
● The new film “The Shameless” by Konstantin Bojanov, which received the Best Actress award in the competition program “Un certain Regard” at Cannes ’24
● “Transamazonia” by Pia Marais (nominated for the Golden Leopard at Locarno, presented in partnership with the Goethe-Institut)
● The new film “10 Kilograms” by Doron Eran
● A special retrospective of Szabolcs Hajdu, organized in partnership with the Liszt Institute - Hungarian Cultural Center Sofia. The Hungarian director will also be honored with the Special Award at Sofia Film Festival.
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The 22nd edition of Sofia Meetings will be held from 19 to 30 March 2025. Sofia Meetings is the only professional event in Bulgaria recognized by the global film industry, partnering with the world’s most significant forums such as Cannes Marche/Producers Network, CineMart, Locarno Pro, San Sebastian Industry, Film Independence, EAVE, ACE, Crossroads, Europa Distribution, CICAE, MIDPOINT, MFI, Europa Cinemas, and many others. Sofia Meetings presents projects for narrative films and TV series to a professional audience of experienced producers, investors, sales agents, and distributors on one hand, and films that are in post-production to sales agents, distributors, and selectors from leading global forums on the other. The highlights of the 2025 program will be announced in February.
What’s Next?
Who will be the other films in the competition and other programs?
Who will be the international guests of the festival?
Who will be the other recipients of the Sofia Film Festival Special Award?
Stay tuned for many more details about the films, guests, and program, which we will share with you in February!
The vision of the 29th Sofia Film Festival is by proof.
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We look forward to seeing you at #CINEMA!
#29SofiaIFF