An authoritative jury will evaluate 12 debut or second films by directors from all around the world to present on March 20 the Grand Prix "Sofia - City of Cinema" Award, provided by the Sofia Municipality
18% Gray (2020) is a film by Viktor Chouchkov-junior, created on the novel of the same name by Zachary Karabashliev. The main roles are in the hands of Ruscen Vidinliev and Dolya Gavanski, the operator is Nenad Boroevich. Zahari and Stella decide to follow their dream by moving from Varna to London, but living there is not an easy task. Stella leaves Zahari and he embarks on a crazy journey from London to Berlin that leads him to unexpected revelations about himself and he discovers the truth of his lost love. 18% Gray is a co-production between Bulgaria, Germany, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Belgium.
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Having worked on various documentary projects and books related to important topics in the history of mankind, Rudolph Herzog, the 47-year-old son of Werner Herzog, made his feature film debut with the British film How to Fake a War (2019). The story takes us to London in 2018, with only five days left until the big day - when more than 100 musicians (even the Beatles, in full line-up?!) will be attending the "War on War" charity event, the biggest concert for all time, before billions of viewers worldwide. PR genius Kate is in charge of the publicity – she works for Harry Hope, the messianic organizer of the event. But Hope is not just an egomaniac with a messianic complex – he’s a rockstar with balls of steel. It’s not about one war, it’s about all wars.
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In this year's international competition participates also one Belgian film by debut filmmaker Eva Cools - Cleo (2019), shown with success at the Ghent Festival, with awards for the rising star and the debut film for Rome in 2019. Cleo is the story of a girl trying to escape from the paws of depression through her will and music and recover her life after a severe car accident killed her parents. She turns for help and comforts the mysterious Leo without to suspect that he was hiding a dangerous secret. The Flemish author's film combines elements of psycho-thriller and deep impact drama and offers viewers an exciting experience.
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Neighboring Greece participates in the Sofia Film Fest competition's programme with A Simple Man (2020) by director Tasos Gerakinis. The plot follows an escaped convict becomes trapped in a village near the border while attempting to flee to the neighboring country. He holds a peaceful winemaker hostage in his own home as the authorities lead a manhunt to find him... A Simple Man is a film about the power of love, truth and human relationships, in spite of all the lies and falsehoods of reality.
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Send Me to the Clouds (2019) is an impressive debut by writer and director Congcong Teng, a bold social satire of contemporary money-obsessed China's society. The young journalist Sheng Nan, whose Chinese name bears the symbolic meaning of "surpassing men", is only 29 years old, but she is a practical woman with a cynical view of the world, and her dream is to write as her idol Hemingway. She is diagnosed with ovarian cancer, but longs for true love and takes on a personal existential journey.
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Turkish film Steppe ("Bozkir", 2019) by director Ali Özel comes to Sofia after winning 11 awards in almost every category at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. Steppe is an unusual story about the evacuation of the main character Ahmet due to the construction of a new dam. Ahmet himself becomes a prisoner of tradition, with his world revolving around his home and the garden where his wife is buried - and he categorically refuses to move to a new house, despite his nephews' insistence…
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The co-production between Germany and China A Fish Swimming Upside Down (2019) by Bulgarian director Eliza Petkova traces the heartfelt relationship between Andrea, Philip and his son. The kind of love triangle is filled with expectations, longings and fears, leaving questions open to who knows what and for whom. This is in Eliza Petkova's second feature film after Zhaleika, presented in Berlin in 2016 and won the grand prize at the 20th Sofia Film Fest.
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European co-production between Lithuania, Latvia, Germany and Greece, Motherland ("Gimtine", 2019) by screenwriter-director Tomas Vengris tells the story about the return of a mother and her son to their country, Lithuania, after many years of immigrant life in the United States. The Wild New East is turning their dreams upside down - the boy wants to have fun during the summer holidays, and his mother hopes to "restart" her life, defeating nostalgia and her failed marriage ... "It's an impressive feature debut, explores ideas for cultural identity and heritage," says Screen Daily in its review.
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Sister (2019) is the second film by Svetla Tsotsorkova. The film has a great festival round - with a premiere and a diploma in San Sebastian, a grand prize at the Cottbus - Germany, with a prize for cinematography from Varna, an award from the FIPRESSI jury in Warsaw. "Tsotsorkova's film is about family life and sisterhood, about the small, innocent lies that are shared by family members, and about how the contradictions between loved ones can be overcome - topics that are familiar to each of us", writes Variety magazine. The main role in the film is entrusted to Monica Naydenova, a discovery of Svetla Tsotsorkova from her debut Thirst. Other participating actors are Svetlana Yancheva, Asen Blatechki, Elena Zamyarkova, Valentin Ganev, Ivan Savov and Alexander Benev. The screenplay is by Svetoslav Ovcharov and Svetla Tsotsorkova, who are also producers of the film.
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Nocturnal (2019) is the feature-length debut of British screenwriter and director Nathalie Biancheri. In her words, the movie is a "psychological thriller with a complex character structure." "What drives the action is the enigmatic friendship between Pete and Laurie. The film provokes our perception of taboo and stereotype… What can be the alternative father-daughter relationship if the father is incapable of being responsible? I believe that such an 'alternative relationship' happens often, and I am happy to be the first director to present it on screen," says Biancheri.
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The Hungarian movie Those Who Remained ("Akik maradtak", 2019) is the second feature film by director Barnabás Tóth and was Hungary's official proposal for the American academy considering Oscar nominations. It's a lyrical story about the healing power of love, and in its focus there's the story of a young girl in Hungary, Holocaust survivor after World War II. The 42-year-old doctor Aldo forms a friendship bond with 16-year-old Clara, who still hopes her parents have survived. But under the influence of socialist ideas, their emotional connection as a father and daughter begins to provoke disapproval.
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Director Massoud Bakhshi's film Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness (2019) was honored with the Grand Jury Award for International Dramatic Film at Sundance Film Festival 2020. This is a co-production between Iran, France, Geranium, Switzerland and Luxembourg and its cinematographer is the Bulgarian Julian Atanassov, well known by his work on Kamen Kalev's "Eastern Plays", "The Island" and "Face Down", "3/4" by Ilian Metev and others. The story follows the predicament of a young woman accused of killing her own husband and sentenced to death. On forgiveness night, the authorities show her live on a television show so that her husband's only daughter can forgive her crime, but unexpected events during this TV broadcast make both women to face the change of circumstances...
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The chairman of the international jury is British-born director Peter Webber, his colleagues are Mexican producer Nicolás Celis, Bulgarian actress Irmena Chichikova, Spanish director and producer Lluís Miñarro, and independent American producer Jim Stark.