After being postponed indefinitely only days before it was supposed to kick off in March, Bulgaria’s biggest film event, the Sofia International Film Festival, came back at the end of June with a summer edition (see the news). The event ended yesterday with an outdoor gala, where Sister [+lire aussi :
critique
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interview : Svetla Tsotsorkova
fiche film] (Bulgaria/Qatar), the second feature by Bulgarian director Svetla Tsotsorkova, received the festival’s top prize, the Sofia City of Film Grand Prix.

The jury, led by British director Peter Webber and consisting of American producer Jim Stark, Bulgarian actress Irmena Chichkova and Mexican producer Nicolás Celis, handed the Special Jury Award to Nathalie Biancheri’s Nocturnal [+lire aussi :
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interview : Nathalie Biancheri
fiche film] (UK).

The summer edition of the festival presented a total of 111 films from 48 countries. Fifty-five titles were screened in one indoor venue and several open-air venues over the course of ten days, while as many as 88 movies in the selection were made available online for any viewer on Bulgarian soil.

The festival will be back with an autumn edition, the dates of which will be announced soon, and 80 new titles are being prepared to be screened then. Other, smaller editions will be organised for several provincial towns, such as Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas.

Here is the complete list of award winners at the Sofia International Film Festival:

Sofia City of Film Grand Prix
Sister [+lire aussi :
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interview : Svetla Tsotsorkova
fiche film] – Svetla Tsotsorkova (Bulgaria/Qatar)

Special Jury Award
Nocturnal [+lire aussi :
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interview : Nathalie Biancheri
fiche film] - Natalie Biancheri (UK)

Best Director
Eva Cools - Cleo [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
fiche film] (Belgium)

Special Mention for Best Screenplay
Massoud Bakhshi - Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness [+lire aussi :
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interview : Massoud Bakhshi
fiche film] (Iran/France/Germany/Switzerland/Luxembourg/Lebanon)

Special Mention for Best Production Design
László Rajk - Those Who Remained [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (Hungary)

Best Documentary
The Cave [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] - Feras Fayyad (Syria/Denmark/Germany/USA/Qatar)
Special Mention
Collective [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] - Alexander Nanau (Romania/Luxembourg)

Best Balkan Film
A Tale of Three Sisters [+lire aussi :
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interview : Emin Alper
interview : Emin Alper
fiche film] - Emin Alper (Turkey/Germany/Netherlands/Greece)
Special Mention
Stitches [+lire aussi :
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interview : Miroslav Terzić
fiche film] - Miroslav Terzic (Serbia)

Best Bulgarian Feature
Cat in the Wall [+lire aussi :
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interview : Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova
fiche film] - Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova (Bulgaria/UK/France)

FIPRESCI Award
Those Who Remained - Barnabás Tóth

Award of the Bulgarian Guild of Film Critics
God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya [+lire aussi :
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interview : Labina Mitevska
interview : Teona Strugar Mitevska
fiche film] - Teona Strugar Mitevska (North Macedonia/Belgium/Croatia/Slovenia/France)

Best Bulgarian Short
Nina - Hristo Simeonov (Bulgaria)