The program of the upcoming Sofia International Film Festival features a record number of documentary premieres. Here are some of them, which will meet the audience in March.
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Silent Observers is the new film by experienced screenwriter and director Eliza Petkova, whose previous works have been showcased and awarded at various international festivals. The story takes place in a remote Bulgarian mountain village, where six animals reveal the mysterious world of superstitions. A cat turns into a vampire, a donkey into an enchanted human, and a dog is branded a chicken killer. Through the animals' perspective, the audience witnesses the gradual disappearance of people. Time seems frozen, and transience remains the only constant. The film is a Bulgarian-German co-production, with Elitsa once again collaborating with cinematographer Constanze Schmitt.
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The film This Was 1965, directed, written, and produced by Lisa Marie Stojčev, will have its world premiere at SIFF. The filmmaker seeks the truth about her origins and her father’s escape story—an escape from a time when searching for freedom meant leaving one’s homeland. Together with cinematographer Grigory Shklyar and composer Rahel Hutter, she travels across Bulgaria, exploring places, texts, letters, documents, and archival footage of her family's past and present in Bulgaria and Germany. The film is an immersive journey through memories, times, and places that have become part of a life.
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Sense of Belonging, directed, written, and produced by Irena Daskalova, takes the audience to the Bulgarian town of Chiprovtsi, where the forgotten story of three Catholic bishops—Petar Bogdan Bashev, Filip Stanislavov, and Petar Parchevich—begins. Born in the 17th century, they later studied and lived in Italy. The film follows their efforts to become part of Renaissance Europe and organize Bulgaria’s liberation. Their lives are explored by three scholars, an Italian priest fluent in Bulgarian, a museum director, and a Vatican tour guide. "Sense of Belonging" is a beautiful narrative about the true meaning of life.
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The main protagonists in Giants, by Hristo Petkov, are Lazar Radkov, founder of the Plastic caps for the future initiative, and the people he inspires to change the world through simple acts. Since 2017, thousands of tons of plastic caps have been collected by volunteers across Bulgarian cities. The initiative has saved thousands of newborns by donating ambulances, incubators, and medical equipment to hospitals nationwide, fostering an active civil society.
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After her successful directorial debut with the feature documentary "Three Candles – Scars from the Balkan Wars" (2014), Diana Zacharieva presents her second documentary, Iva Vanya – Kissed by Fate, Forgotten by All, dedicated to the German film star with Bulgarian roots, Ivanka Yanakieva. Fame came early for her, and a popular 1930s German song lyrics read: “ The whole of Berlin worships me, I am the Bulgarian Iva Vanya!” Her life was filled with twists, drama, and hardships, while her remarkable film career made her the only Bulgarian name in European silent cinema history.
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The film I'm Not a Bad Man, directed and written by Nadya Todorova, follows the lives of two individuals who found themselves on opposite sides of the barricade during the globally significant political events in Prague in 1968. Their memories are different, their lives took different paths, but fate brought them together twice—once as children and again years later, when they had the chance to see beyond their differences.
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And No One Asks Why, by veteran director and screenwriter Mario Krastev, is a film dedicated to rock singer Milena Slavova, named after her iconic song. What has inspired, troubled, and disappointed Milena over the years? How does an artist navigate through time—barriers, restrictions, breakdowns, and compromises—reflected in her music and lyrics? What survives? This film is a journey of searching for and creating meaning—an echo of a soul questioning why others remain silent or scream.
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The film 12 Bar, by Borislav Kostov, follows three parallel storylines: Vasco “The Patch” Georgiev, a famous Bulgarian blues musician and founder of Poduene Blues Band, Evgenii Dainov, a political scientist and devoted blues fan, and the 12 Bar band—Bulgarians playing in America. What unites them all is their shared existential passion—blues. The film’s main theme is the artist’s journey in non-commercial waters and the sacrifices made in the name of their cause.
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