The “Sofia Film Fest” team and the Municipality of Veliko Tarnovo invite the residents and guests of the old capital city to the 13th edition of the popular film festival. And this year, “SFF Veliko Tarnovo” continues the tradition of presenting the latest works of Bulgarian, European and world film art to the widest possible audience throughout the country and with the aim of cultivating a taste for valuable cinema with selected titles.
The 13th “SFF Veliko Tarnovo” is part of the project of Art Fest “SFF on Path 2024”, implemented jointly with the Municipality of Veliko Tarnovo and with the support of IA “National Film Center”, Vivacom and the pan-European cinema chain Europa Cinemas. The screenings take place over three days – April 26, 27 and 28 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), in the period 6-10 p.m. on Friday and 4-10 p.m. during the weekend.
Eight films will be presented to the Veliko Tarnovo audience, and according to the decision of the organizers and the Municipality of Veliko Tarnovo, admission will be free.
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It starts on Friday, April 26 at 18:00 with Nikolay Rusakiev’s documentary “ON THE OTHER SIDE”, which premiered in the program of the 28th Sofia Film Fest. In the spring of 2023, a journalist from Bulgaria was admitted to the other side of the front in Ukraine. Martin Georgiev was already in Odessa, Nikolaev and Kiev at the beginning of the war. And even then he decided that he should see the other side as well – Russia, Donetsk, and why not Mariupol. Since it is from a NATO member country – declared by Russian President Putin to be an “enemy state” – its admission there seems impossible. But exactly one year after the beginning of the conflict, the journalist from Bulgaria received a visa and accreditation, after which he spent two weeks on the other side. Thus, Martin turns out to be probably the only person who was at the front on both the Ukrainian and Russian sides, and with military credentials from both belligerents. He was certainly the last foreigner to visit the headquarters of the Private Military Company “Wagner” before Prigogine’s riot and his death. On the other side – is there either propaganda or not? This film tries to fill in the gaps, and in place of the white spots, to paint the pictures of war.
The main character and the director of the film will personally meet the audience in Veliko Tarnovo and will be available for a conversation after the end of the screening.
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On April 26 (Friday) at 20:00 is the hit new film by director Sofia Coppola “FORCED”. With the prestigious Volpi Cup for Best Actress awarded to the exquisite Kaylee Spaney, Coppola’s new film has been capturing the interest of moviegoers since its premiere in the Venice Film Festival program, where it received a Golden Lion nomination. The director created the script for the biography “Elvis and Me” with the blessing of Priscilla Presley and the co-author of the book Sandra Harmon, and the center of the story is the innocent and charming young girl who falls in love with the legendary and irresistible Elvis. This challenging role is entrusted to one of the most sought after young actors – Jacob Elordi. Through the perspective of Elvis’ lover, Coppola tells the unknown side of a great American myth.
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On the second festival day, April 27 (Saturday), we are waiting for you at 4:00 p.m. to watch the premiere in Veliko Tarnovo of “FALLEN LEAVES” – the latest film by the iconic Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki. The film is one of the five works nominated for the LUX Audience Award, which are presented with FREE ADMISSION to audiences in our country, in partnership with the European Parliament. Awarded a Jury Prize and nominated for the Palme d’Or, Fallen Leaves was one of the most talked about works at Cannes. Two loners meet by chance one night in Helsinki and try to find the love of their lives. The film is another delightful Kaurismaki story, with a serious rock and roll soundtrack.
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The program continues on Saturday, April 27, at 18:00 with a screening of the new film by the famous German director Margarete von Trotta “INGEBORG BACHMANN – JOURNEY IN THE DESERT”. The work was nominated for the “Golden Bear” at the Berlinale 2023 and is dedicated to the relationship between the Austrian poet and writer Ingeborg Bachmann and the Swiss playwright and writer Max Frisch. The coexistence of love and suspicion is the deepest unspoken truth in the director’s fascinating film narrative, and her greatest strength is her ability to bring out this paradox in the relationship between men and women.
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At 20:00 on April 27 (Saturday), the meeting of the audience in Veliko Tarnovo with the new work in the rich filmography of the legend Wim Wenders – “WONDERFUL DAYS” is planned. At Cannes, the film was nominated for the Palme d’Or and awarded the Ecumenical Jury Prize, and Koji Yakusho received the prize for best actor. “Beautiful Days” was also among the contenders for the Oscar for Best International Film. The plot follows a toilet cleaner in Japan who commutes between his various jobs, his life soundtracked by classic rock music handpicked by Wenders. “The film’s narrative is disarming with its absolute lack of cynicism—a unique work by a seasoned craftsman who has thought long and hard about everything that gives our lives meaning,” wrote David Rooney for The Hollywood Reporter.
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The beginning of the Sunday film day, April 28, is dedicated to the memory of an emblematic Bulgarian director – Ludmil Todorov, by presenting his wonderful film “THE MIGRATION OF PALAMUDA”, filled with a special sense of humor and warmth. The main roles in it are entrusted to the beloved Bulgarian actors Hristo Mutafchiev and Stefan Valdobrev, and the young Vladimir Zombori and Nikola Stoyanov play the roles of their on-screen sons. The story is about two fathers who are friends and their children who live in a village. The ways in which they make a living are quite unusual. Simo is an icon painter, and Raicho made a cross for the Ahtopol church and sold it for bonito. They take the cross, two icons and go to the sea… The film makes a humorous but accurate portrait of modern Bulgaria. It also stars Itzhak Fintsi and Velko Kanev (in his last role in front of the camera), the cameraman is Rali Ralchev. The screening starts at 16:00 – don’t miss it!
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Screenings continue on 28 April (Sunday) at 18:00 with Berlinale 2023 Golden Bear winner ON BOARD THE ADAMA by master documentarian Nicolas Philibert. The film is one of the five works nominated for the LUX Audience Award, which are presented with FREE ADMISSION to audiences in our country, in partnership with the European Parliament. Nikola Philibert is an author with an enviable filmography and authority in documentary cinema. His latest work follows the lives of the patients and doctors at the Adamant Psychiatric Center, which operates on a unique floating structure on the Seine River, in the very center of Paris. The methods of treating the mentally ill, applied with great warmth and enthusiasm, are presented, as well as portraits of several patients who are capable of creating original, exciting works of art.
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We end the Sunday film day, April 28, and the program of the 13th SFF in VELIKO TARNOVO with a screening at 8:00 p.m. of the new film by the award-winning German director Christian Petzold “FIRE”. One of the most admired films in the Berlinale ’23 official selection recreates the turbulent emotions between a group of acquaintances who share a holiday villa on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The characters of this story are Leon (Thomas Schubert), Felix (Langston Uibel), David (Eno Trebs) and Nadia (Paula Beer, who has been Petzold’s star in recent years). Everything happens against the background of a forest fire, and the audience’s attention is riveted by the dynamics of the relationship between the characters. “Pojar” won the “Silver Bear” – the grand prize of the jury in Berlin.
The thirteenth edition of “SFF Veliko Tarnovo” is realized in partnership with the Municipality of VELIKO TARNOVO and with the support of the Europa Cinemas cinema chain, IA “National Film Center”, the LUX Audience Award – EU and Vivacom.
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