The 2026 National Festival of Bulgarian Cinema, honoring the Vasil Gendov Awards, concluded its ceremony at the Ivan Vazov National Theatre on Sunday. The event featured a broad spectrum of cinematic works, with 112 films competing across various categories, including 18 feature films, 54 documentaries, 24 short features, and 16 animated films. The Best Feature Film award was presented to The Herd.
Furthermore, the jury recognized Lust with the Special Award for feature film. In the acting categories, Zahari Baharov secured the Best Actor Award, and Gergana Pletnyova received the Best Actress Award. The short feature category saw Eraserhead in a Knitted Shopping Bag win Best Short Film, while Chapter 6 earned the jury’s Special Diploma.
For documentaries, In Hell with Ivowas was named Best Documentary, and Welcome to Sinagovci received the jury’s Special Award. Tonislav Hristov’s Truth or Dare was honored with the Sofia Municipality Award for a film with the most significant social message. The awards also recognized emerging talent.
Nevena Semova received 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. Ivan Veselinov was awarded the jury’s Special Award for the animated film Kumir (Idol). The ceremony also marked a historical occasion for the national festival, as the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to two notable figures: composer Kiril Donchev and screenwriter Hristo Iliev-Charli, acknowledging their substantial contributions to Bulgarian cinema.
Topics: #bulgarian #national #festival
