The documentary competition of the Sofia International Film Festival features 12 remarkable works, some of them premiering directly after their world debuts at major festivals such as Sundance 2025 and the recently concluded Berlinale. Here is a selection of films from the competition lineup, which will be evaluated in 2025 by a distinguished jury consisting of producer Miha Černec (Slovenia), director, editor, and film critic Valentina Ganeva (USA), and director-producer Boris Despodov (Bulgaria).
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"GEN_" arrives in Sofia immediately following its premiere in the Sundance '25 program. This is the tenth feature documentary by filmmaker Gianluca Matarrese, whose previous works have been showcased at festivals in Venice, Amsterdam, Thessaloniki, Copenhagen, Turin, and more. His latest film lifts the curtain on the doctor-patient relationship and emotionally charged conversations about the sense of fulfillment.
"There is a place in Milan where men and women can dream of having children; where men and women can dream of living in the gender they truly identify with. This is possible thanks to the national healthcare system, which makes these dreams a reality without additional financial conditions. Every day, the head of this special medical department, Maurizio Bini—highly educated and sometimes politically incorrect—tries to balance the contradictions between the desires of the body and the societal restrictions in place. His fight is not just for his patients—he also strives to sustain public services in a system increasingly dominated by market forces and political constraints. In this story, we present the final phase of his career... This is not a film about politics and medicine—it is a film about how intimacy becomes a subject for politicians. In this hospital, we discovered warmth, empathy, humanity, and the courage to fight for one's dreams," says Matarrese about the film, which premiered in the World Documentary Competition at Sundance '25.
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Canadian screenwriter, director, and Sofia International Film Festival favorite Denis Côté brings his new film "Paul" to the Berlinale 2025 program. The film presents a deeply personal story about a man who dares to overcome anxiety and depression to find a new path, strength, and confidence in making life decisions. Paul finds security in working as a domestic servant for powerful women known as dominatrices, to whom he feels entirely submissive. They command, he obeys, creating a virtual therapeutic fantasy titled "I Clean to Save My Life," which he shares on social media.
Known to Sofia audiences for his previous films ("Our Private Lives," " Vic + Flo Saw a Bear"), Denis Côté is an advocate of experimental cinema, bold ideas, and provocative characters—elements that are all present in "Paul".
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Presented at Sofia Meetings and selected for the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), "Silent Observers" is the latest film by Eliza Petkova. Her feature debut, "Zhaleika" won the Grand Prize in the International Competition at the 20th Sofia Film Festival in 2016.
The story unfolds in a remote Bulgarian mountain village, where animals reveal various superstitions. A cat turns into a vampire, a donkey into an enchanted man, and a dog is accused of being a chicken killer. Through the animals’ perspective, viewers witness the gradual disappearance of the human population in this isolated place. The film is a Bulgarian-German co-production, with Petkova once again collaborating with cinematographer Constanze Schmitt.
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"From Ground Zero" is a powerful and moving film that Bulgarian audiences will have the chance to see on the big screen after its presentations at festivals such as Toronto, Taormina, Thessaloniki, Palm Springs, and more.
This was Palestine’s official submission to the Academy Awards and consists of a mosaic of 22 short documentary films depicting life in the Gaza Strip. The initiative for this project comes from renowned Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi, who serves as a producer alongside Laura Nikolov. "From Ground Zero" provides a platform for young filmmakers to express themselves, with each short film lasting between 3 and 7 minutes, offering a unique perspective on life in Gaza, the challenges, tragedies, and moments of resilience that its people face.
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Georgian director Sofia Babluani, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris and the Brussels Film School, presents her first feature documentary "The Children of Popodia".
The film explores an inspiring small community where young people of different faiths can live and communicate freely, grow in understanding, and learn to accept each other’s differences. The setting is a boarding school on the border between Georgia and Turkey that offers an alternative model for coexistence. The idea for the school was born out of a passionate love story between two individuals raised with different religious values.
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The audience of the 29th Sofia International Film Festival will have the opportunity to see another unique film—"Frida", the award-winning directorial debut of Carla Gutiérrez, which premiered at Sundance '24.
Dedicated to the legendary artist, the film combines archival footage, music, and animated representations of her letters, essays, and interviews—bringing her words to life through animation inspired by her artwork. This approach immerses viewers in Frida’s inner world, exploring the complex relationships and events that shaped her artistic journey.
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See you at the movies!
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