Only a few days are left before the solemn awards ceremony in the competitions for best full-length feature film based on a literary work and best documentary film. It will take place on November 3 at 7:00 p.m. in Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture in the presence of the international jury in the person of Jim Sheridan, Jacob Ionia, Maria Jurado, Teodora Markova. Nine titles are in the competition for masterful screen adaptation this fall, including “The Black Ball“, which caused a sensation in Cannes and Toronto, “And Then Suddenly“ by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, who was awarded the Best Actress award in Cannes, and “Parallel Stories“ by the two-time “Oscar“ winner Asghar Farhadi.
As is tradition, before the ceremony, the jury representatives will participate in special events. On November 1st at 7:15 PM at the Lumiere Cinema, the living legend of Irish cinema Jim Sheridan will personally open the screening of In the Name of the Father, and after the film, viewers will have the opportunity to meet him and ask their questions. We remind you that Sheridan has six nominations and two Oscars to his credit, and the films he has directed have been awarded an impressive number of awards, including 16 Oscar nominations, 8 BAFTA nominations and 14 Golden Globe nominations. There is hardly a viewer who has remained indifferent to the psychological drama My Left Foot. (1989), followed by “In the Name of the Father“ (1993), again starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Winner of the “Golden Bear“ and nominated for seven “Oscar“ awards, the film tells the heartbreaking story of Gerry Conlon and his fight for justice. The event is being held with the assistance of the Embassy of Ireland in Sofia.
On November 1st at 7:15 p.m. at the House of Cinema, the Danish author and translator Jacob Ionia will open the premiere of the crime drama “The Farthest Frontier“, a film adaptation of his own novel, directed by Christopher Boe. One of the leading roles in the film is played by actress Mathilde Arcel, who was awarded the “Volpi“ Cup in Venice for his portrayal of “An Unknown Woman“. Jakob Ionia gained international fame precisely with the series about the creation of the special crime investigation department, which became the Danish analogue of the FBI and acquired an almost mythical status in the eyes of many Danes. The basis of his success is the charismatic and controversial figure of the young Otto Himmelstrup. Before the start of the screening, the Bulgarian edition of the novel “The Farthest Frontier“, translated by Rositsa Mladenova, will be presented.
One of the most prominent European film stylists - director, screenwriter and producer Pavel Pawlikowski - arrives in Sofia for the Bulgarian premiere of his new film. After triumphing in Cannes, the biographical drama “Fatherland“ (2026) continues to tour the world and collect rave reviews from critics and demanding audiences who appreciate elegant, intellectual “spectacular” auteur cinema. True to his radical minimalism and monochrome aesthetics, Pawlikowski boldly intertwines themes of the price of exile, political ideology, the indelible consequences of war and social rifts. The emotional core of the film is not the division of Germany and the polarization after World War II, but the complex relationship between parents and children and the sense of guilt as a mirror of historical traumas and the existential choices we make. We remind you that immediately after the award ceremony, the winner of the “Oscar“ for “Ida“ (2013) will be honored with an Award for his exceptional contribution to cinema as an aesthetics of the unsaid and a form of upholding human freedom amidst the vicissitudes of history. And after the screening of “Fatherland“ there will be a conversation with the director, in which writer Georgi Gospodinov will also participate. Tickets for the event on November 3 can still be purchased online or at the box office of the National Palace of Culture.
On November 2 at the “Lumiere“ cinema, Pawlikowski will crown two special screenings with his presence: from 6:30 p.m., the documentary “Dostoevsky's Travels“ will be broadcast for the first time in Bulgaria - a tragicomic story about the clash of East and West, told through the life adventures of the writer Dmitry Dostoevsky, a descendant of the great Russian writer. That same evening, at 7:30 p.m., there will be a screening of the chilling masterpiece “Cold War“ (2018) as a gesture to viewers who have not had the opportunity to see it before. This intimate drama introduces us to a world in which the ideologically armed bureaucratic machine of the state limits the freedom of the individual and tests their moral resilience. After the screening, the audience will be able to join in a discussion with the director.