The 2026 National Festival of Bulgarian Cinema, which presented the Vasil Gendov Awards, concluded its proceedings at the Ivan Vazov National Theatre on Sunday. The event featured a broad spectrum of cinematic works, with a total of 112 films competing across categories, including 18 feature films, 54 documentaries, 24 short features, and 16 animated films. In a notable development for the festival, the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented for the first time to two individuals: composer Kiril Donchev and screenwriter Hristo Iliev-Charli, recognizing their significant contributions to Bulgarian cinema.
Vasil Gendov, who wrote, directed, and starred in Bulgaria’s first feature film, the 1915 silent comedy Balgaran e galant, is the namesake of the awards. For the feature film category, The Herd was awarded Best Feature Film. Lust received the jury’s Special Award for feature film.
Zahari Baharov won the Best Actor Award, and Gergana Pletnyova was honored with the Best Actress Award. In the short feature category, Eraserhead in a Knitted Shopping Bag won Best Short Film, while Chapter 6 received the jury’s Special Diploma. The documentary In Hell with Ivowas won Best Documentary, and Welcome to Sinagovci received the jury’s Special Award.
Furthermore, Tonislav Hristov’s Truth or Dare was recognized with the Sofia Municipality Award for a film with the most significant social message. Nevena Semova won the Best Documentary Debut Award for Jar of Time. The animated film segment saw Under and Over the Bed earn the Best Animated Debut Award, while Ivan Veselinov received the jury’s Special Award for Kumir (Idol).
Topics: #bulgarian #national #festival
