The 2026 National Festival of Bulgarian Cinema concluded with the presentation of the Vasil Gendov Awards by the Union of Bulgarian Filmmakers at the Ivan Vazov National Theatre on Sunday. The festival featured a broad selection of cinematic works, with 112 entries submitted across categories including 18 feature films, 54 documentaries, 24 short features, and 16 animated films. This year marked a historic occasion for the National Festival of Bulgarian Cinema, as the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to two notable figures: composer Kiril Donchev and screenwriter Hristo Iliev-Charli, recognizing their substantial contributions to Bulgarian cinema.
In the main categories, The Herd was honored with the Best Feature Film Award, while Lust received the jury’s Special Award for a feature film. Zahari Baharov secured the Best Actor Award, and Gergana Pletnyova won the Best Actress Award. The short feature category saw Eraserhead in a Knitted Shopping Bag win Best Short Film, and Chapter 6 was recognized with the jury’s Special Diploma.
For documentaries, In Hell with Ivowas was awarded Best Documentary, with Welcome to Sinagovci receiving the jury’s Special Award. Further accolades included the Sofia Municipality Award for the film with the most significant social message, given to Tonislav Hristov for Truth or Dare. Nevena Semova earned the Best Documentary Debut Award for Jar of Time, and the Best Animated Debut Award went to Sofia Sokerova and Sonya Ranova for Under and Over the Bed.
Finally, Ivan Veselinov received the jury’s Special Award for the animated film Kumir (Idol).
Topics: #bulgarian #national #festival
Congrats to the filmmakers; it’s great to see Bulgarian cinema getting recognition.