The 2026 National Festival of Bulgarian Cinema, which presented the Vasil Gendov Awards, concluded on Sunday at the Ivan Vazov National Theatre. The event featured a diverse selection of 112 films across multiple categories, including 18 feature films, 54 documentaries, 24 short features, and 16 animated films. The Best Feature Film award was awarded to The Herd.
Additionally, the jury presented the Special Award for feature film to Lust. In the acting categories, Zahari Baharov received the Best Actor Award, and Gergana Pletnyova won Best Actress. The short feature category saw Eraserhead in a Knitted Shopping Bag recognized as Best Short Film, with Chapter 6 receiving the jury’s Special Diploma.
For documentaries, In Hell with Ivowas won Best Documentary, and Welcome to Sinagovci earned the jury’s Special Award. The festival also recognized significant contributions to Bulgarian cinema. For the first time, the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to two individuals: composer Kiril Donchev and screenwriter Hristo Iliev-Charli, acknowledging their substantial impact on the art form.
Furthermore, the Sofia Municipality Award for the most significant social message went to Tonislav Hristov for Truth or Dare. Nevena Semova was honored with the Best Documentary Debut Award for Jar of Time, and the Best Animated Debut Award was given to Sofia Sokerova and Sonya Ranova for Under and Over the Bed. Ivan Veselinov received the jury’s Special Award for the animated film Kumir (Idol).
The National Festival continued its tradition of honoring cinematic excellence.
Topics: #bulgarian #national #festival
