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 112 submissions 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.
Additionally, Lust received the jury’s Special Award for a feature film. Zahari Baharov was recognized as the Best Actor, and Gergana Pletnyova won the Best Actress award at the national gathering. In the short feature category, Eraserhead in a Knitted Shopping Bag secured the Best Short Film, while Chapter 6 received the jury’s Special Diploma.
For documentary filmmaking, In Hell with Ivowas won Best Documentary, and Welcome to Sinagovci earned the jury’s Special Award. The Sofia Municipality Award for a film with the most significant social message went to Tonislav Hristov for Truth or Dare. Nevena Semova received the Best Documentary Debut Award for Jar of Time.
The animated segment saw Under and Over the Bed, by Sofia Sokerova and Sonya Ranova, win Best Animated Debut, while Ivan Veselinov’s Kumir (Idol) was honored with the jury’s Special Award. Notably, the 2026 festival marked a historic occasion as the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to two figures, composer Kiril Donchev and screenwriter Hristo Iliev-Charli, for their contributions to Bulgarian cinema.
Topics: #bulgarian #national #festival
