It would be hard to find a film event more affected by the pandemic and political climate than the Sofia International Film Festival, whose 26th edition kicks off today and will take place until 31 March. After a 2020 edition cancelled days before it was supposed to begin and a 2021 edition drastically limited by Bulgaria’s cinema attendance regulations, this year’s offering is kicking off just as Europe is left reeling from Russia’s war on Ukraine, which the festival strongly condemns. The festival team have sent a strong message of solidarity to the Ukrainian people, and to directors Oleh Sentsov, who was supposed to be a jury member but is now fighting in the Ukrainian army, and Valentyn Vasyanovich. Their most recent productions, Rhino [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] and Reflection [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Valentyn Vasyanovych
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12 films, all first or second features, will be competing for the festival's top award. There’s Svetoslav Draganov's Humble [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Bulgaria/Portugal/Luxembourg), Daniel Densik's Miss Osaka [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Denmark/Norway/Japan), Natalie Biankeri's Wolf (Ireland/UK/Poland), Beatrice Baldacci's The Den [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Italy), Florian Dietrich's Toubab [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Germany/Senegal), Bartosz Blaschke's Sonata [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Poland), Hajni Kis's Wild Roots [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Hungary/Slovakia), Ayden Orak's Time of Impatience (Turkey), Arvand Dashtaray's The Absent Director (Iran), Max Walker-Silverman's A Love Song (USA) and Tamara Dondurey's Stand by Me (Russia).

The Balkan Competition also consists of 12 titles: Dragomir Sholev's Fishbone [+leggi anche:
intervista: Dragomir Sholev
scheda film] (Bulgaria/Romania), Alina Grigore's Blue Moon [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alina Grigore
scheda film] (Romania), Radu Jude's Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Radu Jude
scheda film] (Romania/Luxembourg/Croatia/Czech Republic), Radu Muntean's Întregalde [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Radu Muntean
scheda film] (Romania), Stefan Arsenijevic's As Far As I Can Walk [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Stefan Arsenijević
scheda film] (Serbia/France/Luxembourg/Bulgaria/Lithuania), Srdjan Dragojevic's Heavens Above [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Srđan Dragojević
scheda film] (Serbia/Germany/North Macedonia/Slovenia/Croatia/Montenegro/Bosnia and Herzegovina), Antoneta Alamat Kusjanovic's Murina [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
intervista: Gracija Filipovic
scheda film] (Croatia/Brazil/USA/Slovenia), Blerta Basholi's Hive [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Blerta Basholli
scheda film] (Kosovo/Switzerland/Albania/North Macedonia), Luana Bayrami's The Hill Where Lionesses Roar [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Luana Bajrami
scheda film] (France/Kosovo/USA), Dina Duma's Sisterhood [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Dina Duma, Antonia Belazel…
scheda film] (North Macedonia/Kosovo/Montenegro), Araceli Lemos's Holy Emy [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Araceli Lemos
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Another 12 features stand a chance at winning the documentary competition’s awards: Eliza Petkova's Mayor, Shepherd, Widow, Dragon (Bulgaria), Elitsa Georgieva's Our Quiet Place (France/Bulgaria), Francesco Montagner's Brotherhood [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Francesco Montagner
scheda film] (Italy/Czech Republic), Jonas Poher Rasmussen's Flee [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
scheda film] (Denmark/France/Sweden/Norway), Jean Libon and Yves Hinant's For a Fistful of Fries [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jean Libon e Yves Hinant
scheda film] (France/Belgium), Ahmet Necdet Cupur's Les enfants terribles [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (France/Germany/Turkey), Svetlana Rodina and Laurent Stoop's Ostrov - Lost Island [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Switzerland), Renato Borrayo Serrano's Life of Ivanna [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Russia/Norway/Estonia/Finland), Charlotte Gainsbourg's Jane By Charlotte [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (France/UK/Japan), Andre Bonzel's Flickering Ghosts of Loves Gone By (France), Ruslan Fedotov's Where Are We Headed? (Belarus/Russia), and Emmanuel Lisha's Shark Bone (Canada).

The 26th edition of festival is also offering up a focus on films by Bulgarian women directors. Works by Adela Peeva, Iglika Trifonova (who’s also the main jury president), Zornitsa Sofia, Svetla Tsotsorkova, Nadezhda Koseva, Kristina Grozeva, Maya Vitkova, Ralitsa Petrova, Elitsa Petkova, Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova, and Yana Titova are all set for the showcase.