In Bulgaria, short film remains a fertile ground for artistic exploration and innovation, supported both by the National Film Centre and by state funds that finance short productions within their official calls. In recent years, the country has increased its attractiveness for international co-producers thanks to its fiscal incentive of 25% for eligible expenditure on audiovisual productions. However, many emerging filmmakers face challenges: limited budget, competition for subsidies and difficulty in national distribution.
The Golden Rose festival remains a key platform that awards national shorts and gives them visibility, and each edition usually includes 20-25 short films in competition. With this, Bulgarian short cinema is positioned as a dynamic creative space that combines local tradition with global momentum.
Directors: Yordan Petkov, Edi Schwartz
Writers: Edi Schwartz, Yordan Petkov
Cast: Ivo Krasev, Bilyana Kazakova, Hristo Petkov, Alexander Evgeniev, Petar Toskov
Director of Photography: Dimitar Nedelchev
Producer: Valentin Leblanc
Belgium, Bulgaria, France, 29′, 2019.
SINOPSIS
Anton's in a well... both emotionally and literally. That makes him the perfect candidate for the work Tsetso offers him in the illegal coal mine he "directs." The nights there are long, the friendships, short, and the price of getting out of the hole is high.
Directors: Philip Andreev
Script: Katerina Lambrinova, Philip Andreev
Director of Photography: Georgi Andreev
Music: Hristo Namliev
Cast: Alexander Benev, Elina Karastoyanova, Yossif Surchadzhiev, Tanya Shahova, Svetla Tsotsorkova, Dimitar Petkov, Tsvetan Alexiev, Iren Petrova, Mak Marinov, Alexander Kanev
Production: Borough Film - Vladimir Andreev, Katerina Lambrinova, Georgi Andreev
Co-production: Right Solutions - Todor G. Todorov, Soul Food - Tonislav Hristov, Andrea Stanoeva, Dolly Media Studio - Dobromir Chochov
With the support of the National Film Centre of Bulgaria
Bulgaria, 29′, 2024.
SINOPSIS
Alexander has returned from Denmark to attend his mother's funeral. However, instead of facing his distant relatives, he decided to take, along with his teenage sister Kalina, a tour of the city, probably in search of his father, always absent. On the way, between remeetings with old friends and visits to places of the past, they rediscover their mutual closeness.
Festivals and prizes:
• Sofia International Film Festival 2024, competition
• Sofia International Film Festival on the Coast 2024, Winner of the Best Short Film Award
• Nomination for the Union of Bulgarian Caneasts's Vasil Gendov 2024 Awards
Philip Andreev graduated from the National Academy of Theatrical and Cinematographic Arts as director of film and television. He is a screenwriter / director of several short films, including The Prince and I don't want to grow up, having won multiple nominations and awards at festivals. He has also worked as a management assistant in numerous films, commercials and video clips, both Bulgarian and international.
Directors: Veselin Boydev
Script: Veselin Boydev, Decho Taralezhkov
Director of photography: Veselin Hristov
Music: Mihail Deliradev
Cast: Neno Koynarski, Yavor Borisov, Katalin Stareishinska, Vyara Kolarova
Production: Contrast Films - Katya Trichkova
Co-production: Hand played - Angel Ivanov, Right Solutions - Todor Todorov, Sonus - Ivan Andreev
With the support of the National Film Centre of Bulgaria
Bulgaria, 17′, 2024.
SINOPSIS
The prohibition of hospital visits during the COVID19 crisis forces two brothers, Ivan (38) and Peter (47), to use their contacts to visit their mother, who has been operated as a matter of urgency. They face the chaos and corruption of the hospital system. In addition, the visit is questioned by a scandalous error.
Festivals and prizes:
• Bulgarian premiere and selection in competition for the Best Fiction Short, Sofia Film Festival 2024
• Winner of the Best Fiction Short Award, Vasil Gendov 2024 Union of Bulgarian Cineasts Awards
Veselin Boydev graduated in the direction of puppet theatre at the National Academy of Theatrical and Cinematographic Arts Krastyo Sarafov. He is the author and director of numerous puppet shows presented at national and international festivals. Ikar Award winner for the Best Work of Puppets by The Piece (2018). He debuted in film with short film Clothes (2016), winner of the Jameson Award for Best Short Film at the Sofia Film Festival and the Best Short Film Award at the Bulgarian Film Academy in 2017, as well as other prestigious awards at international festivals.
Directors: Peter Vulchev
Script: Peter Vulchev
Director of photography: Kiril Prodanov
Cast: Lubomir Buchvarov
Production: Equal, Co-production: B2Y
Bulgaria, 15′, 2024.
SINOPSIS
As he prepares the details of his own funeral, an old man realizes that he will celebrate Christmas alone. Unable to sleep, he decides to spend the holiday in his dead wife's grave.
Director: Asparuh Petrov
Script: Asparuh Petrov
Animation: Asparuh Petrov
Music: Andrea Martignoni
Production: Compote Collective - Vessela Dantcheva
With the support of the National Film Centre of Bulgaria
Bulgaria, 6’42», 2022.
SINOPSIS
A young writer dedicates his nights to hunting marinated phrases with his pen. When he faces news of his wife's pregnancy, his world crumbles. Persistent fears and painful memories overwhelm him and he needs to rebuild the missing pieces.
Director: Andrey Tsvetkov
Producer: Andrey Tsvetkov (Androfilm)
Bulgaria, 10′, 2024.
SINOPSIS
History of a common man of the people, Kutsan, whose life changes when he begins to take care of a small bird fallen from the sky. Two neighbors, Mrs Pumpkin and Mr Kratun, witness everything, and this also gives meaning to their lives. The problem is that Kutsan must teach the bird to fly. But when the fall comes, they both end up flying away.
Script: Konstantin Petrov
Director: Gospodin Nedelchev-Dido
Director of photography: Dimitar Nedelchev
Producer: Gospodin Nedelchev-Dido
Bulgaria, 8′, 2021.
SINOPSIS
An animated short about hypocritical compassion and the love that gives life. Can we really open our hearts to genuine love and true mercy?
On a cold winter night, under the bright sign of a neighborhood cinema, a street musician plays alone. His music heats his only listener: an ice-cold, hungry sparrow. Attracted by the sign of the last premiere, a crowd meets quickly and fills the room. The movie starts...
Director: Vessela Dantcheva
Composer: Susanne Kirchmayr, known as Electric Indigo
Music performed by: Klangforum Wien
Producers: Vessela Dantcheva, Compote Collective (Bulgaria), Klangforum Wien (Austria)
Bulgaria, 6’10», 2019.
SINOPSIS
In a purely abstract way, Hierarchy Glitch addresses a fundamental idea of the common good economy model. Both the visual patterns and the voices of the whole are trapped in hierarchical behavior that restricts the potential and mobility of each individual element. Soon the pattern breaks, the connections and directions are lost, and the entropic disorder arises. This is when the autonomous units reconnect, forming organic and balanced constellations. They develop a collective organism, a resilient entity.
House of Culture. Pz. de Austria, s / n. 29631. Honey Arroyo. Benalmádena.
FICCAB © 2025 by agdezavisual / Alejandro Ruiz
