This year’s edition of Sofia International Film Festival is divided into two instalments – the summer and autumn edition. The summer edition was launched on 25th June, while screenings of films from different programmes will continue until 19th July. The awards ceremony took place on Monday, 6th July. During its summer edition, Sofia IFF will screen 111 films from 48 countries. A portion of the films were shown at the Cinema House film theatre in Sofia, while others were screened online.

The Balkan Competition of films from the region included five Croatian titles, of which two received awards. The jury comprised of Slovak director Mira Fornay, Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson and German-Bulgarian director Simona Kostova awarded a special mention to Miroslav Terzić’s Stitches, a co-production between Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.  

Teona Strugar Mitevska’s God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija, a Macedonian-Belgian-Slovenian-Croatian-French co-production, received the Bulgarian Film Critics Guild Award. Zdenka Gold of production company Spiritus Movens is the Croatian producer of both films.  

Find out more about Sofia IFF awards here. 

The Sofia International Film Festival is held since 1997 and attracts over 85 000 visitors each year. The festival aims to present the best of international contemporary cinema to local audiences and offers international audiences a chance to see the best of Bulgarian and regional Balkan cinema. Sofia IFF is the only film festival in Bulgaria recognized by FIAPF and FIPRESCI. For more information about Sofia IFF, visit the official festival website. 

Cover photographs: Sofia International Film Festival visual; scenes from Stitches, God Exists, Her Name is Petrunija