After 15 successful editions of the Sofia International Film Festival, what more can surprise the viewers and loyal moviegoers? Stefan Kitanov: Contrary to the economic stagnation, we remain true to ourselves –over-ambitious and responsible in the selection of movie titles and guests. The viewers will be surprised by the huge choice of quality films and numerous guests of the festival, including “Oscar” winners and the most prestigious film awards. There is no turning bac...

Walking around New York, London or Paris, if you offered someone 100 dollars, pounds or euros to name just one Bulgarian film or director, you'd likely still have the money in your pocket after an hour of trying. Of course, this fact has nothing to do with a lack of productivity or talent in contemporary Bulgarian cinema.And with “Avé”, the feature film debut by director Konstantin Bojanov, Bulgarian cinema's profile is likely to be raised higher, as audiences discover a deeply personal and...

Kamen Kalev’s second feature The Island, which tells the story of a young couple heading to a remote island in the Black Sea where their relationship is questioned, was invited to the Directors Fortnight section of the 64 Cannes International Film Festival.   The film was first pitched as a project during Sofia Meetings’04. The cast includes the French model and actress Leticia Kasta, the Danish actor Thure Lindhart and their Bulgarian fellow actors Boyka Velkova, Russi Chanev, Mihai...

Today, under the auspices of the 66th Mostra, the European Parliament unveiled the three contending films for the LUX Prize 2009: Eastern Plays (Kamen Kalev), Sturm (Hans-Christian Schmid) and Welcome (Philippe Lioret) will compete for the film prize that has been awarded by the European Parliament to a European co-production for the last two years. For the winner, the LUX Prize 2009 (lux is the Latin word for light), worth about 87,000 Euros, will finance subtitling in the EU's...

Today, under the auspices of the 66th Mostra, the European Parliament unveiled the three contending films for the LUX Prize 2009: Eastern Plays (Kamen Kalev), Sturm (Hans-Christian Schmid) and Welcome (Philippe Lioret) will compete for the film prize that has been awarded by the European Parliament to a European co-production for the last two years.For the winner, the LUX Prize 2009 (lux is the Latin word for light), worth about 87,000 Euros, will finance subtitling in the EU’s 23 official lan...