This year’s Golden Rose Film Festival, an event that regularly showcases the latest Bulgarian fiction features and shorts in the seaside city of Varna, was marked by a strong international presence through several international co-productions in the competition, while more than 40% of the movies shown were directed by women.

Headed up by Bulgarian-German actor Samuel Finzi, the feature-film jury also included Dutch producer and film executive Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and director of the European Film Academy; Turkish film-industry professional Esra Demirkıran, festival coordinator at TRT Sinema and coordinator of the 12 Punto script development and co-production platform; Croatian audiovisual policy and production expert Maja Vukić, deputy CEO of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre; and Bulgarian writer-director Dimitar Dimitrov.

Valeska Grisebach’s The Dreamed Adventure is the new holder of the Golden Rose Trophy for Best Feature Film, while it also received the Union of Bulgarian Filmmakers’ Award. The jury praised Grisebach’s trust in the camera, locations and non-professional actors, as well as her ability to observe Bulgaria “from the outside, but never from above”.

Viktor Ivanov’s debut feature, Everyone Dies in the News, was one of the big surprises at the festival, as it was presented with the Debut Feature Film and Artistic Bravery Awards for being “narrated with a distinctive cinematic style and a strong directorial voice”. It was also deserving of the Youth Jury Award.

Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s Black Money for White Nights won the Best Directing Award for its “masterful direction, precise storytelling, strong work with the actors and impressive realism”, while main cast members Tanya Shahova and Ivan Savov were named Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively, with Savov sharing the prize with Galin Stoev for Nina Roza.

Yulian Atanasov scooped the Best Cinematography gong for Ralitza Petrova’s Lust, while the Best Screenplay Award went to Viktoria Petkova, Zornitsa Sofia and Petar Delchev for 3.0 Kilograms of Happiness, directed by Zornitsa Sofia. The Balkan co-production between Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Croatia Yugo Florida by Vladimir Tagić received a Special Mention as well as the Best Music Award for Viktoria Krachunova’s work. Aleksandar Kossev’s dramedy Women Out of Order was honoured with the City of Varna Award.

In the short-film competition, Dimana Markovska’s Found at Sea won the Golden Rose Trophy for Best Short Film, while Special Mentions went to Boril Antov for his acting in Making Love, directed by Ventsislav Sariev, and Hanis Bagashov’s The Rabbit Is Dead. The same jury crowned Rainmarks, created by novelist and head writer Alexander Chobanov, and directed by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, as Best TV Series.

Among the special and partner awards, the Bulgarian Film Critics’ Guild honoured Ralitza Petrova’s Lust as Best Feature and Maya Vitkova-Kosev’s Impromptu as Best Short. The audience voted for Geneviève Dulude-de Celles’s Nina Roza, while the Film Producers’ Association Award for a Short Film by an Author Under 35 was granted to Kristian Georgiev’s Clay. Stefan Belov’s Non-Migrants received the Red Cross Film Festival Award for Best Feature.

Finally, the EWA Network Bulgaria handed a Diploma to Bozhana Marinova’s A Cup of Coffee and its Award for a Short Fiction Film Directed by a Woman to Anastasia Angelova for Driving Lesson.

Here is the complete list of award winners:

Best Feature Film
The Dreamed Adventure – Valeska Grisebach (Germany/France/Bulgaria/Austria)

Best Directing
Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov – Black Money for White Nights (Bulgaria/Greece)

Best Screenplay
Viktoria Petkova, Zornitsa Sofia, Petar Delchev – 3.0 Kilograms of
Happiness (Azerbaijan/Bulgaria)

Best Cinematography
Yulian Atanasov – Lust (Bulgaria/Denmark/Sweden)

Best Music
Viktoria Krachunova – Yugo Florida (Serbia/Montenegro/Bulgaria/Croatia)

Best Actress
Tanya Shakhova – Black Money for White Nights

Best Actor (ex-aequo)
Galin Stoev – Nina Roza (Canada/Italy/Bulgaria/Belgium)
Ivan Savov – Black Money for White Nights

Best Debut Feature Film
Everyone Dies in the News – Viktor Ivanov (Bulgaria)

Artistic Bravery Award
Everyone Dies in the News – Viktor Ivanov

The City of Varna Award
Women Out of Order – Aleksandar Kossev (Bulgaria)
Special Mention
Yugo Florida – Vladimir Tagić

Audience Award
Nina Roza – Geneviève Dulude-de Celles

Youth Jury Award
Everyone Dies in the News – Viktor Ivanov

Best Short Film
Found at Sea – Dimana Markovska (Bulgaria)

Special Mentions for Short Film
For Acting Performance: Boril Antov – Making Love (Bulgaria)
The Rabbit Is Dead - Hanis Bagashov (Bulgaria/North Macedonia)

Best TV Series Award
Rainmarks – Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov (Bulgaria)

Bulgarian Film Critics’ Guild Award for Best Feature Film
Lust – Ralitza Petrova

Bulgarian Film Critics’ Guild Award for Best Short Film
Impromptu – Maya Vitkova-Kosev (Bulgaria/Romania)

Union of Bulgarian Filmmakers’ Award
The Dreamed Adventure – Valeska Grisebach

Film Producers' Association Award for a Short Film by an Author Under 35
Clay – Kristian Georgiev (Bulgaria)

Red Cross Film Festival Award for Best Feature Film
Non-Migrants – Stefan Belov (Bulgaria)

EWA Network Bulgaria Diploma for a Short Fiction Film Directed by a Woman
A Cup of Coffee – Bozhana Marinova (Bulgaria)

EWA Network Bulgaria Award for a Short Fiction Film Directed by a Woman
Driving Lesson – Anastasia Angelova (Bulgaria)