The Sofia Film Festival 2025 Announces Lineup

The 29th Sofia International Film Festival (SIFF) is welcoming its audience from March 13 to 31, 2025. The preliminary program kicks off on March 10 at the Czech Cultural Center with a retrospective of one of the festival’s special guests – Bohdan Sláma. The SIFF program in Sofia continues until April 4.

The festival is organized by Art Fest under the patronage of the Sofia Municipality, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Bulgarian National Film Center, and the Creative Europe MEDIA program of the European Union, in partnership with the National Palace of Culture, various cultural institutions, sponsors, partners, and friends.

We eagerly await in Sofia the filmmakers of the competition programs, who will personally present their films to the Bulgarian audience in cinema halls, as well as many world-renowned guests with their latest films. Sofia Film Fest in Plovdiv will be held from March 21 to April 6, the Varna edition from March 21 to 29, and Sofia Film Fest On The Coast in Burgas from March 20 to 28.

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The visual theme for the 29th Sofia Film Festival is made by proof. The clip was produced with the assistance of ProCamera Rental, UFO, NATFIZ “Krastyo Sarafov”, and Positive Possum.



Sofia Film Fest is produced with the support of UNIQA Insurance Company – Bulgaria, Grand Hotel Sofia, Bulgaria Air, Moto-Pfohe Rent a Car, and the Audience LUX Award.



Festival partners include the British Council, Italian Cultural Institute, French Cultural Institute, Polish Institute, Goethe Institute, Romanian Cultural Institute, Austrian Cultural Forum, Czech Center – Sofia, List Institute – Hungarian Cultural Institute, Instituto Cervantes, Doli Media Studio, Maison de MITKO DAMOV, hotels Sveta Sofia, Rosslyn, V1, Intercontinental, and many other organizations, media outlets, and friends.



Sofia Film Festival is made possible with the financial support of the Sofia Municipality, the Ministry of Culture, the Bulgarian National Film Center, and the Creative Europe MEDIA program of the European Union.

The festival will also host the 22nd edition of the industry event Sofia Meetings from 19 to 23 March 2025.

International Competition:

Cat’s Cry (Serbia, Canada, Croatia)

Directed by Sanja Živković

Produced by Nova film

Coproduced by Artizana Film, Cinnamon Films , YN Films

Supported by the Film Center Serbia, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Telefilm Canada

Flesh (Bulgaria)

Directed by Dimitar Stoyanovich

Produced by Premier Studio Plus

Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center

Windless (Bulgaria, Italy)

Directed by Pavel G. Vesnakov

Produced by Red Carpet

Coproduced by dispàrte

Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, the Italian Ministry of Culture

Honeymoon (Ukraine)

Directed by Zhanna Ozirna

Eternity Package (Bulgaria, Italy)

Directed by Magadalena Ilieva

Produced by Agitprop, Little Wing Productions

Coproduced by Mammut Film

Supported by Eurimages, the Bulgarian National Film Center, the Italian Ministry of Culture, MEDIA – Creative Europe

Under the Grey Sky (Poland)

Directed by Mara Tomkovich

Produced by Media Corporation

Supported by the Polish Film Institute

Die Like a Man (USA)

Directed by Eric Nazarian

Winter in Sokcho (France, South Korea)

Directed by Koya Kamura

On the Edge (Belgium)

Directed by Sophie Muselle, Guérin van de Vorst

Hallway to Nowhere (Croatia)

Directed by Zvonimir Munivrana

Produced by Studio Corvus

Coproduced by Croatian Tuna Film

Supported by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre

Nobody Wants to Shoot a Woman (USA)

Directed by Kerry Ann Enright

Rock Bottom (Spain, Poland)

Directed by Maria Trainer

Produced by Alba Sotorra SL

Coproduced by Jaibo Films, GS Animation, Empatic Production

Balkan Competition:

Triumph (Bulgaria, Greece)

Directed by Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov

Produced by Abraxas Film

Coproduced by Graal Films, Five Oceans, Red Carpet, Dystopia Films

Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, Eurimages, the Bulgarian National Television, the Greek Film Center, the Greek National Television (ERT), MEDIA Creative Europe, the American Foundation for Bulgaria, CCU

The Erl-King (Serbia, Bulgaria)

Directed by Goran Radovanovich

Produced by NAMA FILM

Coproduced by Archangel Digital Studios, Premier Studio Plus

Supported by Film Center Serbia, the Bulgarian National Film Center , the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, the Serbian Armed Forces

Waterdrop (Albania, Italy, Romania, Kosovo)

Directed by Robert Budina

Produced by Era Film, Avanpost

Coproduced by Redibis Film, Iliria Film

Supported by the Albanian National Center of Cinematography, the Kosovo Cinematography Center, the Italian Ministry of Culture, MEDIA Creative Europe, SEE Cinema Network

Luna Park (Albania, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo)

Directed by Florenc Papas

Produced by On Film Production

Coproduced by Atalante Productions, Studio Corvus, Buka Production

Supported by the Albanian National Center of Cinematography, the Greek Film Center, ERT, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Kosovo Cinematography Center, the SEE Cinema Network

Mother Mara (Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Luxembourg)

Directed by Mirjana Karanovic

Produced by This and That Productions

Coproduced by Oko Film, Paul Thiltges Distributions, December, Deblokada, VHS Doo

Supported by MEDIA Creative Europe, Film Center Serbia, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Slovenian Film Centre, RTV Slovenia, the Film Centre of Montenegro, Film Fund Sarajevo, Film Fund Luxembourg, BAK Ministry of Culture Switzerland, Zurich Film Fund, Eurimages

Traffic (Romania, Belgium, the Netherlands)

Directed by Teodora Mihai

Produced by Mindset Productions

Coproduced by Lunanime, Bastide Films, Les Films du Fleuve

Supported by Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), NFF, NFI, CFWB, MEDIA Creative Europe, Tax Shelter

Giannis in the Cities (Greece)

Directed by Eleni Alexandrakis

Produced by Pomegranate Films

Coproduced by Alatas Films, Authorwave, Tamarisk

Supported by National Centre of Audiovisual Media and Communication (EKOME), the Greek Film Center, National Greek Television (ERT)

iDEA (Тurkey, Romania, France)

Directed by Tayfun Pirselimoglu

Produced by Mitra Films, Gataki Films

Coproduced by TRT Sinema, AVANPOST, Arizona Films

Supported by the Turkish Ministry of Culture, İzmir Sinema Ofisi, Buca Municipality

The Tower of Strength (Montenegro, Serbia, Germany, Croatia)

Directed by Nikola Vukcevic

Produced by Galileo Productions

Coproduced by Cinnamon Films, Embrio Production, Progressive Films, Mogador Film

Supported by Radio-Television of Montenegro, the Film Centre of Montenegro, Film Center Serbia, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Montenegrin Ministry of Culture and Media, CEKUM

The Flying Meatball Maker (Turkey, Bulgaria, Germany)

Directed by Rezan Yesilbas

Produced by Rez Film

Coproduced by Alaz Film, Bredok Film Production

Wishbone (Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece)

Directed by Penny Panagiotopoulou

Produced by P.P. Productions

Coproduced by Manny Films, Pallas Film GmbH Felony Film Productions, ERT

And the Rest Will Follow (Turkey, Bulgaria)

Directed by Pelin Esmer

Produced by Sinefilm

Coproduced by Screening Emotions, Libra films

Supported by Eurimages, T.C. Kültür Bakanlığı Sinema Genel Müdürlüğü, the Bulgarian National Film Center

SOFIA MEETINGS

Work in Progress:

Feature Films:

Alice’s Journey (Colombia)

Directed by Raul Garcia Rodriguez

Ave Maria (Bulgaria)

Directed by Jacky Stoev, Nikolay Boshnakov

Produced by Ars Digital Studio

Becaaria (Switzerland)

Directed by Eric Bernasconi

Chica Checa (Czech Republic, France, Slovakia)

Directed by Simon Holy,

Produced by Silk Films

Doha (Spain)

Directed by  Eimi Imanishi

Dursht – Shodows of the Past (India, USA)

Director Aditya Chavan

Exotic (Poland)

Directed by Sonja Orlewicz-Zakrzewska

Produced by Mozaika Films

Jar of Time of Time (Bulgaria)

Directed by Nevena Semova, Swapnil Arjun

Producer by Attic Films

Kabaddi (Argentina, Brazil)

Direcded by Palo José Meza

Land (Bulgaria)

Directed by director Nikolay Todorov

Produced by Screening Emotions

The Moon Is a Father of Mine (Georgia, Germany, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Bulgaria,Turkey)

Directed by George Ovashvili

Produced by Wagonnet Film

The Sinless (Hungary)

Directed by Attila Hartung

Produced by Lupa Pictures

The Sweet Bitterness of Ripe Pomegranates (North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Croatia)

Directed by Andrey Volkashin

Produced by  Studio Corvus, Screening Emotions, Veda Film Productions

This Is Not Happening (Poland)

Directed by Artur Wyrzykowski

Produced by Bold Humans

Wild Is the Wind (Spain, Greece, Portugal)

Director Eloy Domínguez Serén

Documentary Films:

Another Father (Spain)

Directed by Mariona Gui

Truth (Finland, Bulgaria)

Directed by Tonislav Hristov

Produced by Making Movies Oy

Short Films:

Balkonada (Bulgaria)

Directed by Iva Tokmakchieva

Produced by Compote Collective