19/03/2018 - Films from Hungary and Turkey have also picked up important awards at the Bulgarian gathering

DoP Julian Atanassov and actors Todor Veltchev, Nikolay Mashalov and Mila Mihova receiving the festival's Grand Prix for 3/4

On Friday night, the jury led by Hungarian director Ildiko Enyedi announced the winners of the 22^nd edition of Bulgaria’s biggest film event, the Sofia International Film Festival. The top prize, the “Sofia City of Film” Grand Prix, went to Ilian Metev’s first fiction feature, 3/4 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ilian Metev
film profile], which became a festival darling immediately after winning the Golden Leopard in the Filmmakers of the Present sidebar at last year’s Locarno Film Festival.

It is the fourth consecutive year when a Bulgarian production, or at least a feature with a mainly Bulgarian core, has won the festival’s Grand Prix, after Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s The Lesson [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Val…
interview: Margita Gosheva
film profile] (2015), Eliza Petkova’s Zhaleika [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (2016, technically a German production, but with a deeply Bulgarian story and shot exclusively in Bulgaria) and Ralitza Petrova’s Godless [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ralitza Petrova
film profile] (2017).

Here is the complete list of award winners at Sofia:

Sofia City of Film Grand Prix Award
3/4 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ilian Metev
film profile] - Ilian Metev (Bulgaria/Germany)

Special Jury Award
Genesis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Árpád Bogdán, Andrea Taschler
film profile] - Arpad Bogdan (Hungary)

Best Director Award
Banu Sivaci - The Pigeon [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Turkey)
Special Mention
Mohsen Gharaei - Blockage (Iran)

Best Bulgarian Short
Transfiguration - Stefan Ganev
Special Mention
Shame - Petar Krumov 

Audience Award
Radiogram [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Rouzie Hassanova (Bulgaria/Poland/Turkey)

Best Documentary
Miniature for Piano - Eldora Traykova (Bulgaria)

Best Balkan Film
Heights/The Liberators [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Victor Bojinov (Bulgaria) 

FIPRESCI Award
Omnipresent [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Ilian Djevelekov (Bulgaria)

Young Jury Award
Genesis - Arpad Bogdan