10/03/2022 - The festival expresses its solidarity with Ukrainian filmmakers

It would be hard to find a film event more affected by the pandemic and political climate than the Sofia International Film Festival, whose 26th edition kicks off today and will take place until 31 March. After a 2020 edition cancelled days before it was supposed to begin and a 2021 edition drastically limited by Bulgaria’s cinema attendance regulations, this year’s offering is kicking off just as Europe is left reeling from Russia’s war on Ukraine, which the festival strongly condemns. The festival team have sent a strong message of solidarity to the Ukrainian people, and to directors Oleh Sentsov, who was supposed to be a jury member but is now fighting in the Ukrainian army, and Valentyn Vasyanovich. Their most recent productions, Rhino [+see also:
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film profile] and Reflection [+see also:
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interview: Valentyn Vasyanovych
film profile], feature within the festival’s selection this year.

12 films, all first or second features, will be competing for the festival's top award. There’s Svetoslav Draganov's Humble [+see also:
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film profile] (Bulgaria/Romania), Andrey Paunov's January [+see also:
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film profile] (Bulgaria/Portugal/Luxembourg), Daniel Densik's Miss Osaka [+see also:
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film profile] (Denmark/Norway/Japan), Natalie Biankeri's Wolf (Ireland/UK/Poland), Beatrice Baldacci's The Den [+see also:
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film profile] (Italy), Florian Dietrich's Toubab [+see also:
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film profile] (Germany/Senegal), Bartosz Blaschke's Sonata [+see also:
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film profile] (Poland), Hajni Kis's Wild Roots [+see also:
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film profile] (Hungary/Slovakia), Ayden Orak's Time of Impatience (Turkey), Arvand Dashtaray's The Absent Director (Iran), Max Walker-Silverman's A Love Song (USA) and Tamara Dondurey's Stand by Me (Russia).

The Balkan Competition also consists of 12 titles: Dragomir Sholev's Fishbone [+see also:
interview: Dragomir Sholev
film profile] (Bulgaria/Romania), Alina Grigore's Blue Moon [+see also:
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interview: Alina Grigore
film profile] (Romania), Radu Jude's Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn [+see also:
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interview: Radu Jude
film profile] (Romania/Luxembourg/Croatia/Czech Republic), Radu Muntean's Întregalde [+see also:
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interview: Radu Muntean
film profile] (Romania), Stefan Arsenijevic's As Far As I Can Walk [+see also:
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interview: Stefan Arsenijević
film profile] (Serbia/France/Luxembourg/Bulgaria/Lithuania), Srdjan Dragojevic's Heavens Above [+see also:
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interview: Srđan Dragojević
film profile] (Serbia/Germany/North Macedonia/Slovenia/Croatia/Montenegro/Bosnia and Herzegovina), Antoneta Alamat Kusjanovic's Murina [+see also:
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interview: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
interview: Gracija Filipovic
film profile] (Croatia/Brazil/USA/Slovenia), Blerta Basholi's Hive [+see also:
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interview: Blerta Basholli
interview: Yllka Gashi
film profile] (Kosovo/Switzerland/Albania/North Macedonia), Luana Bayrami's The Hill Where Lionesses Roar [+see also:
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interview: Luana Bajrami
film profile] (France/Kosovo/USA), Dina Duma's Sisterhood [+see also:
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interview: Dina Duma, Antonia Belazelk…
film profile] (North Macedonia/Kosovo/Montenegro), Araceli Lemos's Holy Emy [+see also:
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interview: Araceli Lemos
film profile] (Greece/France/USA) and Emre Kaish's Anatolian Leopard [+see also:
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film profile] (Turkey/Germany/Poland/Denmark).

Another 12 features stand a chance at winning the documentary competition’s awards: Eliza Petkova's Mayor, Shepherd, Widow, Dragon (Bulgaria), Elitsa Georgieva's Our Quiet Place (France/Bulgaria), Francesco Montagner's Brotherhood [+see also:
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interview: Francesco Montagner
film profile] (Italy/Czech Republic), Jonas Poher Rasmussen's Flee [+see also:
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interview: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
film profile] (Denmark/France/Sweden/Norway), Jean Libon and Yves Hinant's For a Fistful of Fries [+see also:
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interview: Jean Libon and Yves Hinant
film profile] (France/Belgium), Ahmet Necdet Cupur's Les enfants terribles [+see also:
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film profile] (France/Germany/Turkey), Svetlana Rodina and Laurent Stoop's Ostrov - Lost Island [+see also:
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film profile] (Switzerland), Renato Borrayo Serrano's Life of Ivanna [+see also:
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film profile] (Russia/Norway/Estonia/Finland), Charlotte Gainsbourg's Jane By Charlotte [+see also:
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film profile] (France/UK/Japan), Andre Bonzel's Flickering Ghosts of Loves Gone By (France), Ruslan Fedotov's Where Are We Headed? (Belarus/Russia), and Emmanuel Lisha's Shark Bone (Canada).

The 26th edition of festival is also offering up a focus on films by Bulgarian women directors. Works by Adela Peeva, Iglika Trifonova (who’s also the main jury president), Zornitsa Sofia, Svetla Tsotsorkova, Nadezhda Koseva, Kristina Grozeva, Maya Vitkova, Ralitsa Petrova, Elitsa Petkova, Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova, and Yana Titova are all set for the showcase.