23-rd Sofia International Film Festival
Sofia International Film Festival is the biggest film festival in Bulgaria. It began in 1997 and attracts more than 85 000 spectators annually. The festival aims to present the best of the contemporary cinema to local audiences and regional Bulgarian and Balkan cinema to international audiences, as well as to encourage cooperation between local and international filmmakers. Since 2003 the festival has International Competition for first and second films and is included in the FIPRESCI calendar. Since 2003 the festival has also competition for regional films and national short films (Jameson Short Film Award). Since 2009 is introduced International documentary competition. In 2007 Variety placed Sofia IFF among the Top 50 world unmissable film events for industry. In 2010 Sofia IFF was accredited by FIAPF as a competitive specialized feature film festival and became the only Bulgarian film festival recognized by FIAPF nowadays. SIFF is the only Bulgarian film festival recognized by FIPRESCI.
"Walking on Water" by Andrey Paounov opens 23rd Sofia Film Fest on March 7, 2019 in Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture!
The 23rd Sofia International Film Festival will happen from 7-17-28 March 2019 in Sofia. In the frame of the festival is organized the co-production market Sofia Meetings which brings more than 300 foreign professionals to the festival including strong number of distributors, members of Europa Distribution, and exhibitors, members of Europa Cinemas. Sofia Meetings is one of the leading co-production events in Europe and especially the region.
The Sofia Award for outstanding contribution in cinema is a joint initiative of Sofia Municipality and Sofia International Film Festival. The award was first handed out in 2005 by the Mayor of Sofia under whose patronage the festival takes place. Since then, 52 individuals from Bulgarian and International cinema were honored with the prestigious award.
Festival is organized by Art Fest under the patronage of Sofia Municipality and is a part of the Calendar of Cultural Events of Sofia for 2019. It is realized in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Bulgarian National Film Center and the National Palace of Culture, with the support of the program Creative Europe Media of the European Union, national and foreign cultural institutes, sponsors, partners and friends.
Information for the festival: http://siff.bg/en/.
