However, this does not mean that Bulgarian cinema is not good, and that is does not deserve to be supported. To solve the problem of the absence of Bulgarian films from cinemas, and to make people get interested in Bulgarian directors and actors, since 1997 Sofia has hosted an international film festival, which is getting more and more important, and which nowadays is considered as the main cinema event in Bulgaria, as well as one of the 50 world's cinema festivals that cinema professionals cannot miss. The festival, indeed, hosts around 120 Bulgarian and international films, attracting cinema lovers, professionals, artists and journalists from all over the world. The 2009 edition will be held from the 5th to the 15th March.



As has been said, the festival is mainly intended to promote and support Bulgarian cinema, and to do that the organisers try to establish a contact between those who make and those who watch films. Those who have realised the films that are presented during the festival, indeed, are invited to take part in the event, while visitors are offered tickets at affordable prices. To support Bulgarian and Balkan cinema and to promote the greatest possible number of good works, many awards and sections of the festival are dedicated to local films. In this way visitors are given the possibility to discover new talents, while filmmakers grab the chance to present their works not only in their country, but all around the world.

During the festival retrospectives, documentaries, feature and short films will be projected, and they will be divided into in competition and out of the competition sections. Bulgarian and Balkan films will be awarded important prizes, such as the Jameson Short Film Award, the Kodak Award for the best feature film, and the No Man's Land Award for the Best Balkan film in the festival programme. Although it focuses on local cinema, the Sofia festival is also an important showcase for international works and a chance for the public to meet some of the main figures of world's cinema (some of the hosts of past editions were Wim Wenders, Nikita Mihalkov and Jean-Claude Cartier). The festival, indeed, is also meant to contribute to the exchange between Bulgarian and international cinema and to encourage the cooperation between local and foreign filmmakers, and every year important prizes are awarded also to international works.

Given the growing success of the festival, both on a national and on an international level, the Bulgarian cinema of the future bodes well.

Visiting Sofia during the film festival is a very good idea: in this period, indeed, the city is particularly lively, but also crowded with tourists. For this reason it would be better for you to book now a cheap hotel in Sofia.

Tickets: various prices

Date: 5th 15th March 2009

Location: Sofia, Bulgaria