The dramatic cinematic triptych “The Black Ball” won the 2026 Cinelibri Award for Most Impactful Adaptation in the feature-length fiction film competition.
This is yet another accolade for the passionate epic by directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, inspired by an unfinished play by Federico García Lorca and by Alberto Conejero’s play “The Dark Stone”. To date, the film, co-produced by Pedro Almodóvar, has ten prestigious awards and just as many nominations to its credit, including the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival and audience awards at the festivals in San Sebastián, Toronto and Sydney, and will compete for an Oscar in the Best International Feature Film category as Spain’s official entry.
The awards ceremony took place on November 3 at Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture in the presence of the jury, composed of: Jim Sheridan, Jakob Jonyah, María Jurado, Teodora Markova. The renowned actor Clive Russell also cast his vote for the award, but unfortunately was unable to land in Sofia and attend the ceremony due to unforeseen circumstances.
As jury president, the director of “My Left Foot” and “In the Name of the Father” announced the winner and the reasons for the decision: “The award goes to “The Black Ball” for its daring, visually striking and emotionally absorbing story, which fuses fiction and reality on an epic scale, captivating the viewer and generating an irresistible sense of excitement, breaking down every psychological resistance. This ingeniously composed narrative explores the complexity of collective and individual trauma, compassion and repressed desires. The jury notes the film’s melodramatic charge and sees it as an advantage in the polarized, harsh world in which we live, and in which audiences yearn for stories with powerful emotional resonance.” The award was presented by Petar Todorov, executive director of the National Film Center. Eduardo Corchero, deputy head of mission at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in the Republic of Bulgaria, accepted the accolade on behalf of the directors of “The Black Ball.”
In the Best Documentary category, the jury, represented by Ralitsa Golemanova, Martin Genovski and Georgi Toshev, awarded the grand prize to the German-Swiss co-production “Dancing Around Oneself – Siri Hustvedt” by Sabine Lidl “for its ability to create an intimate portrait that transcends the personal story and reaches universal human themes.” According to the jury, “the film combines intellectual depth, delicacy of observation and precise cinematic expression.” Irina Dakova, Sofia Deputy Mayor in charge of “Culture and Tourism,” accepted the award on behalf of the director. Viewers who were unable to see this compelling documentary portrait in the cinema can watch it online via the Neterra.TV+ platform, where the Cinelibri selection will be available until November 15.
A special award for artistic power and social significance went to Alex Gibney’s film “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,” dedicated to Salman Rushdie, another brilliant writer and intellectual with a cosmopolitan spirit. According to the jury’s reasoning, “the film impresses with its courageous story about freedom of speech, the strength of the human spirit and resistance to violence. It transforms a personal story into a universal message about the courage to stand up for truth and freedom.”
The highlight of the evening was the announcement of the recipient of the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Cinema as an Aesthetic of the Unspoken and a Form of Defending Human Freedom Amid the Turbulence of History. Evtim Miloshev, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria, took the stage to present the honorary award to the distinguished Polish-British filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski. The director of “Ida” and “Cold War” accepted the award in person and thanked the organizers for the honor, after which he took part in an emotional conversation with Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov. The ceremony was followed by a premiere screening of the historical drama “Homecoming,” Pawlikowski’s latest film, focused on writer Thomas Mann’s return to Germany in 1949 after 16 years in exile. It is worth recalling that it was precisely for this stylistic masterpiece that Paweł Pawlikowski shared the Best Director award at Cannes with the directors of “The Black Ball.”
More exciting cinema-literary events and special screenings are still to come before the festival ends. On November 5 at 7:00 p.m. at the House of Cinema, as part of a gala evening dedicated to Japanese culture, the official premiere will take place of the film “Kokuhō: The Living Treasure” by director Sang-il Lee. The Oscar-nominated adaptation of Shūichi Yoshida’s novel is the highest-grossing fiction film in the history of the Japanese box office. The event is organized with the assistance of the Embassy of Japan in Sofia. On the same date, viewers will have another opportunity for an extraordinary encounter: at Lumiere cinema, director Sergio Castro San Martín will personally present his film “The Chilean,” winner of the Boccalino d’Oro award at the Locarno International Film Festival! Tickets for the event can be obtained online or from the NDK box offices.
On November 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the House of Cinema, we will mark 80 years since the founding of the legendary magazine L’Europeo with the documentary “The L’Europeo Era” by director Lachezar Avramov. Shot in Milan and Sofia, the film traces the fate of one of the most influential print media outlets in European history, whose traditions are now preserved solely by its Bulgarian edition. The screening will take place in the presence of the film crew.
And on November 8 at 4:30 p.m. at the Toplocentrala Regional Center for Contemporary Arts, the traditional awards ceremony for the winners of the short film competition based on a book will take place. A jury composed of Alena Vergova – actress and director, Petar Dochev – actor and television presenter, and Ekaterina Lazarevska – actress, will select the winning film from among seven nominated titles: “Blue Hat with a Feather” by Katya Munkova, “Mole Blood” by Milena Andonova, “Ivalu” by Pipaluk K. Jørgensen and Anders Walter, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Georges Schwizgebel, “The Cow” by Pavo Marinković, “On the Road” by Samir Karahoda, and “Tragedy Without a Hero” by Revaz Nasidze. The winner will receive a diploma, a statuette and a cash prize from TatraTea, and all the award-winning films will be screened after the ceremony.