24/09/2020 - Bulgarian films shine at the country’s biggest gathering for domestic productions, which kicks off today

With so many festivals having been cancelled in Europe since March, Bulgarian films almost haven’t been introduced to the world at all this year, which means that the 38^th edition of the Golden Rose Film Festival has been eagerly awaited by the Bulgarian film industry. Organised by the Bulgarian National Film Center in the seaside city of Varna, this edition (24 September-1 October) will screen pretty much everything that Bulgarian cinema has to offer this year, including minority co-productions.

The edition kicks off tonight with the screening of Iranian director Siamak Etemadi’s Pari [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Siamak Etemadi
film profile] (Greece/France/Netherlands/Bulgaria/Switzerland), which was co-produced by Bulgarian production company Chouchkov Brothers.

The 19 features competing for the Golden Rose Trophy are Viktor Chouchkov's 18% Grey [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Viktor Chouchkov
film profile] (Bulgaria/Germany/Serbia/North Macedonia/Belgium), Yana Titova's A Dose of Happiness [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Bulgaria), Bogomil Kalinov's Ashes Over the Sun [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Bulgaria), Georgi Stoyanov and Wojciech Todorow's Blessed Are the Meek (Bulgaria), Yavor Petkov's Danny. Legend. God [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Yavor Petkov
film profile] (Bulgaria/UK), Dimitar Radev's Dante’s Heaven [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Bulgaria), Ivan Tscherkelov's Do Not Argue with the Bath Staff [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Bulgaria), Ivaylo Hristov's Fear [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivaylo Hristov
film profile] (Bulgaria), Konstantin Burov's Goodbye, Johnny [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Bulgaria), Ivaylo Penchev's Last Call (Bulgaria), Katrin Gebbe's Pelican Blood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katrin Gebbe
film profile] (Germany/Bulgaria), Niki Iliev's Reunion [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Bulgaria), Ivan Vladimirov's Scenes from the Life of an Actress (Bulgaria), Stanimir Trifonov's The Blessed (Bulgaria), Georgi Kostov's The Rest Is Ash (Bulgaria), Dimitar Petkov's The Short Straw (Bulgaria), Ivan Yurukov's Till the Final Caprice (Bulgaria), Martin Makariev's Wildings (Bulgaria), and Andrey Andonov and Vladimir Borisov's Yataghan (Bulgaria). Most of the titles were supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center.

Bulgarian directors Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov will judge the films as presidents of the jury, which also comprises Hungarian producer László Kántor, Bulgarian film critic Petia Alexandrova, Bulgarian actor Velizar Binev and Lithuanian industry expert Edvinas Pukšta. The awards will be announced on 1 October.