The 2026 National Festival of Bulgarian Cinema, which presented the Vasil Gendov Awards, took place at the Ivan Vazov National Theatre on Sunday. The festival showcased a wide array of cinematic works, with 112 films competing across categories, including 18 feature films, 54 documentaries, 24 short features, and 16 animated films. The award for Best Feature Film was presented to The Herd.
Additionally, Lust received the jury’s Special Award for feature film. Zahari Baharov was recognized as the Best Actor, and Gergana Pletnyova won the Best Actress award at this major Bulgarian event. In the short feature category, Eraserhead in a Knitted Shopping Bag secured the Best Short Film award, 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. The Sofia Municipality Award for the film with 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.
The animated segment saw Under and Over the Bed, from Sofia Sokerova and Sonya Ranova, win the Best Animated Debut Award. Ivan Veselinov received the jury’s Special Award for the animated film Kumir (Idol). 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, acknowledging their substantial contributions to Bulgarian cinema.
Topics: #bulgarian #national #festival
The 2026 National Festival of Bulgarian Cinema, which featured the presentation of the Vasil Gendov Awards, was held at the Ivan Vazov National Theatre on Sunday. The festival hosted a diverse selecti