Diary of the 24th Sofia International Film Festival
Day 9, Friday
INTRODUCTION
Dear Friends,
Day 9 of the 24th Sofia Film Festival is one of the busiest. It was scheduled for the 20th of March 2020, Friday. It will happen on another Friday in June or September that same year.
In today’s 9th edition of our imaginary online festival diary we present to you the film that received 4 Academy Awards this year and the “Golden Palm” at Cannes in 2019 – “Parasite” by Bong Joon Ho, our Festival Gala. One Oscar less, but with 11 nominations is “Roma” by Alfonso Cuarón, which is introduced by it’s producer Nicolás Celis, member of the International Jury of SIFF.
“Women’s day” by Dolya Gavanski will be presented with videos by Dolya and co-producer Martichka Bozhilova.
One of the main themes of the 24th SIFF is Francophonie 50. Together with Institut Français de Bulgarie, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and certain embassies, we have curated a rich programme that opens officially this Friday with the co-production between France, Tunisia, Lebanon and Qatar “A Son” by Mehdi M. Barsaoui. In the programme there are 14 films from 19 countries.
One of the most important events for every festival with an international competition is the Awards Ceremony. It is scheduled for this same Friday. It will happen, later on. We present to you the film that will follow this year’s ceremony – “The Barefoot Emperor” by Jessica Woodworth and Peter Brosens, a co-production between Belgium, The Netherlands, Croatia and Bulgaria.
And since we’re on the topic of co-productions - today, on Friday begins the 17th edition of the Sofia Meetings co-production market, one of the leading professional film platforms in Europe. We were expecting over 250 representatives of the European film industry in Sofia – film funds, producers, festival programmers, participants with their projects, experts, sales companies, European distributors, cinema programmers and many others for the traditional intensive but refreshing and recharging meetings in Sofia. They will happen, a bit later in time. We have prepared an address by the director of the forum and managing director of the SIFF, Mira Staleva.
On today’s Friday we will remember some of the world-renowned directors and artists who visited the SIFF on that same day, among them Claudia Cardinale, Volker Schlöndorff, Terry Gilliam, Jan Troell, Paweł Pawlikowski, Goran Paskaljevic, Alice Rohrwacher. We will also remember a very important premiere in the history of the SIFF, which took place on the 14th of March 2008 – “The World is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner” by Stephan Komandarev. The title is quite valid nowadays and we share it with Faith, Hope and Love.
On the 9th day of the 24th SIFF there are 20 film scheduled for a screening. We will see them!
Yours,
Stefan Kitanov - Kita
Director of SIFF
Producer of SOFIA MEETINGS
FESTIVAL GALA: PARASITE
FILMS OF THE DAY: ROMA and ROAD TO ROMA
HERE YOU CAN FIND INFORMATION about "ROMA" on the Sofia Film Festival website.
HERE YOU CAN FIND INFORMATION about "ROAD TO ROMA" on the Sofia Film Festival website.
FILM OF THE DAY: WOMEN’S DAY
HERE YOU CAN FIND INFORMATION about "WOMEN’S DAY" on the Sofia Film Festival website.
GALA FRANCOPHONIE 50: A SON
AWARDS CEREMONY
The Award Ceremony of the 24th Sofia Film Festival was scheduled for the 9th day of the festival. With a few pictures, we will present the award ceremony and the festival atmosphere in 2019.
HERE YOU CAN FIND INFORMATION about the AWARDS of 2019 on the Sofia Film Festival website..
AWARDS' GALA SCREENING: THE BAREFOOT EMPEROR
SOFIA MEETINGS' OPENING
Today, Friday, Day 9 of the SIFF, the 17th edition of the Sofia Meetings begins. At the Grand Hotel Sofia we’re expecting over 250 representatives of the world film industry.
Since its very creation in 2004, the co-production market of SIFF - Sofia Meetings contains two main modules: Feature Films Pitching (presentations of first, second and third feature films projects) and Works in Progress/Balkan Screenings. There are training initiatives, workshops, lectures and presentations on the new tendencies in the industry, all of these enriching the knowledge of producers on the subjects of international co-productions, project financing, festival and market strategies and contemporary approaches, innovation in audiovision, reaching out for new audiences.
Feature Films Pitching is a program where first, second and third film projects are presented by their producers and directors in front of an international audience, consisting of representatives of European film funds, televisions, producers, distributors and sales companies. The aim of these presentations is to lay the ground for future co-productions. Works in Progress/Balkan Screenings presents unfinished films, mostly Bulgarian, as well as new, finished Bulgarian films and selected films from the region. Almost all successful Bulgarian films created after 2005 have been presented either as projects or as works in progress at the Sofia Meetings.
Many of the projects, presented at Sofia Meetings, became important European films, directed by Cristi Puiu, Kornél Mundruczó, Álvaro Brechner, Tom Shoval, Mira Fornay, Dusan Milic, Radivoje Andric, Stefan Arsenijevic, Tolga Karaçelik, Yann Gonzalez, Burhan Qurbani, Nathalie Biancheri, George Ovashvili, Radu Jude, Nikos Labôt, Agnieszka Smoczynska, Jessica Woodworth and Peter Brosens, Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, Aleksey German Jr., Aleksey Popogrebskiy, Babak Jalali, Oleg Sentsov, Andrey Tarkovskiy Jr., Václav Kadrnka... Among Bulgarian directors are Stephan Komandarev, Iglika Triffonova, Kamen Kalev, Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, Milko Lazarov, Svetla Tsotsorkova, Ralitza Petrova, Ilian Metev, Konstantin Bojanov, Andrey Paounov, Nadejda Koseva, Tonislav Hristov, Ilian Djevelekov and many more.
We will remember the awards and the atmosphere of the 16th edition of Sofia Meetings in 2019.
COPRODUCTION MARKET
COMING SOON
PHOTO ON THIS DAY AT SOFIA FILM FESTIVAL
On that same Friday thorough the years, many celebrities visited the SIFF.
On 12th of March 2010, Friday, the Swedish director Jan Troell received Sofia Award and presented his film "Everlasting Moments".
On 11th of March 2011, Friday, Claudia Cardinale received the Sofia Award from the mayor of Sofia – Yordanka Fandakova.
On 14th of March 2014, Friday, Serbian director Goran Paskaljevic, one of the dearest friends of SIFF, received Sofia Award by Assoc. Prof. Todor Chobanov, the Deputy mayor of Sofia before the screening of his film "When Day Breaks".
On 13th of March 2015, Friday, Italian director Alice Rohrwacher presented her film “The Wonders” at a screening, dedicated to the memory of Karl “Baumi” Baumgartner.
On 18th of March 2016, Friday - Kita and Terry Gilliam facing the festival photographer Boryana Pandova.
On 15th of March 2019, Friday, Paweł Pawlikowski presented “Cold War” at Dom na Kinoto * Cinema House as a special accent of “Focus on Poland” at SIFF.
SIFF FILM OF THE DAY SOME YEARS AGO
On the 14th of March 2008, Friday, in the crowded Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture, the premiere of Stephan Komandarev’s film “The World is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner” took place. The film is a co-production between Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia and Serbia. Later the film was shown around the world to a huge success and brought Bulgaria it’s first ever International Feature Film Oscar Nomination Shortlist.
Miki Manojlovic was in the role of Bai Dan.
HERE YOU CAN FIND INFORMATION about "THE WORLD IS BIG AND SALVATION LURKS AROUND THE CORNER" on the Sofia Film Festival website.
MUSICAL GREETING FROM SIFF
THE FESTIVAL TRAILER
