The Sofia Award for outstanding contribution in cinema is a joint initiative of Sofia Municipality and Sofia International Film Festival . The award was first handed out in 2005 by the Mayor of Sofia under whose patronage the festival takes place. Since then, 72 individuals from Bulgarian and international cinema were honored with the prestigious award. Peter Greenaway , director (UK) Rangel Valchanov , director (Bulgaria) Volker Schlondorf , director (Germany) Terry Jones , director (UK) Sir Alan Parker , director (UK) Nikolay Volev , director (Bulgaria) Vanessa Redgrave , actress (UK) Theo Angelopoulos , director (Greece) Lyudmil Staykov , director (Bulgaria) Wim Wenders , director (Germany) Jiří Menzel , director (Czech Republic) Vladislav Ikonomov , director (Bulgaria) Nikita Mikhalkov , director/actor/scriptwriter (Russia) Milcho Leviev , composer (Bulgaria, USA) Jean-Claude Carrière , scriptwriter (France) Miki Manojlvic , actor (Serbia) Nikola Korabov , director (Bulgaria) Michael Palin , actor, scriptwriter and TV presenter (UK) Bozhidar Petkov , composer (Bulgaria) Giuliano Montaldo , director (Italy) Tony Palmer , director (UK) Jan Troell , director (Sweden) Sergei Solovyov , director (Russia) Otar Iossealiani , director (Georgia, France) Rousy Chanev , actor, screenwriter (Bulgaria) Claudia Cardinale , actress (Italy) Claude Lelouch , director (France) Nuri Bilge Ceylan , director (Turkey) Gueorgui Stoyanov , director (Bulgaria) Danis Tanović , director (Bosna and Herzegovina) Hugh Hudson , director (UK) Itzhak Finzi , actor (Bulgaria) Costa Gavras , director (France) Paolo and Vittorio Taviani , directors (Italy) Jos Stelling , director (Netherlands) Dusan Hanak , director (Slovakia) Prof. Georgi Djulgerov , director (Bulgaria) Goran Paskaljevic , director (UK) Ivan Ivanov , actor (Bulgaria) Franco Nero , actor (Italy) In Memoriam KARL ‘BAUMI’ BAUMGARTNER Nana Djordjadze , director (Georgia) Ted Kotcheff , director (Canada, Bulgaria) Georgi Stoev - Jecky, director (Bulgaria) Georgi Penkov - Johny, sound engineer (Bulgaria) Hristo Iliev - Charli, screenwriter (Bulgaria) Bela Tarr , director (Hungary) Terry Gilliam , director (USA, Great Britain) Stoyanka Mutafova , actress (Bulgaria) John Savage , actor (USA) Agnieszka Holland , director (Полша) Adela Peeva , director (Bulgaria) Vasil Mihaylov , actor (Bulgaria) Abel Ferrara , director (USA) Roman Balayan , director (Ukraine) Krzysztof Zanussi , director (Poland) Bille August , director (Denmark) Kiril Marichkov , musician and composer (Bulgaria) Anri Koulev , animator and director (Bulgaria) Theodosii Spassov , musician and composer (Bulgaria) Mika Kaurismäki , director (Finland) Jafar Panahi , director (Iran) Angel Wagenstein , screenwriter and writer (Bulgaria) Iglika Trifonova , director (Bulgaria) Radoslav Spassov , cinematographer, director, writer, producer (Bulgaria) Geraldine Chaplin , actress (USA) Margarethe von Trotta , director and actress (Germany) Georgi Todorov-Jozi , artist (Bulgaria) Tzvetana Maneva , actress (Bulgaria) Iossif Sarchadzhiev , director and actor (Bulgaria) Rajko Grlić , director (Croatia)
FROM SIFF October 16 2026
