Varna is the third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in the Northern Bulgaria region. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna, the city has been a major economic, social and cultural centre for almost three millennia. Historically known as Odessos, Varna developed from a Thracian seaside settlement into a major seaport on the Black Sea.
The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou is a film festival in Burkina Faso, held biennially in Ouagadougou, where the organization is based. It accepts for competition only films by African filmmakers and chiefly produced in Africa. FESPACO is scheduled in March every second year, two weeks after the last Saturday of February. Its opening night is held in the Stade du 4-Août, the national stadium.
The Varna Necropolis, or Varna Cemetery, is a burial site in the western industrial zone of Varna, internationally considered one of the key archaeological sites in world prehistory. The oldest gold treasure and jewelry in the world, dating from 4,600 BC to 4,200 BC, was discovered at the site. Several prehistoric Bulgarian finds are considered no less old – the golden treasures of Hotnitsa, Durankulak, artifacts from the Kurgan settlement of Yunatsite near Pazardzhik, the golden treasure Sakar, as well as beads and gold jewelry found in the Kurgan settlement of Provadia – Solnitsata. However, Varna gold is most often called the oldest since this treasure is the largest and most diverse.
The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year since its inception, except for 2011 and 2013, when it was cancelled due to budget limitations and political instability. It is the only international competitive feature film festival recognized by the FIAPF in the Arab world and Africa, as well as the oldest in this category.
Iran's annual Fajr International Film Festival, or Fajr Film Festival, has been held every February in Tehran since 1983. The festival is supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. It takes place on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The awards are the Iranian equivalent to the American Academy Awards.
The Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) is an annual film festival in Fribourg, Switzerland. It is focused on selected films from Asia, Africa and Latin America. The Grand Prize is the main award of the Fribourg International Film Festival.
The Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europe's "Big Three" film festivals alongside the Venice Film Festival held in Italy and the Cannes Film Festival held in France. Furthermore, it is one of the "Big Five", the most prestigious film festivals in the world. The festival regularly draws tens of thousands of visitors each year.
Denis Côté is a Canadian independent filmmaker and producer living in Quebec, of Brayon origin. His experimental films have been shown at major film festivals around the world.
Izulu Lami, titled My Secret Sky in English, is a 2008 South African film made in the Zulu language. It was directed by Madoda Ncayiyana. It follows the story of two children who travel to the city of Durban and become street kids after their mother dies.
Ilian Djevelekov is a Bulgarian film director and producer.
Joël Karekezi is a Rwandan screenwriter, film director and film producer. His short film The Pardon, about reconciliation after the Rwandan genocide against Tutsi in 1994, won the Golden Impala award at the Amakula Film Festival in Uganda. A feature version was made in 2011, and shown at the Göteborg International Film Festival, and later at other international film festivals including Seattle International Film Festival (2013), Chicago International Film Festival and FESPACO.
Nippon Connection is a festival for Japanese film which takes place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, every year in early summer. The festival is organized by the nonprofit organization “Nippon Connection e.V.”. Nippon Connection has become the biggest platform for contemporary Japanese film worldwide, with about 18,500 participants in 2023. The 24th festival edition will take place May 28 to June 2, 2024.
Snow ("Сняг") is a Bulgarian film, a co-production with Ukraine, from 2015, directed by Ventsislav Vasilev.
Godless is a 2016 Bulgarian drama film directed by Ralitza Petrova. It was screened in the Discovery section at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.
The Sinking of Sozopol is a 2014 Bulgarian drama film directed by Kostadin Bonev starring Deyan Donkov, Snezhina Petrova, Svetla Yancheva and Stefan Valdobrev. A pre-premiere screening took place at the festival Apolonia in Sozopol on 29 August 2014. Additional screenings took place on 12 October 2014 during the 32nd Golden Rose Film Festival in Varna, and 13 November 2014 at the 28th Bulgarian film festival Cinemania. The film was officially released on 3 April 2015.
The Golden Rose Bulgarian Feature Film Festival is held in Varna in September or October. Also known as Golden Rose National Film Festival or simply Golden Rose Film Festival, the event was first held in August 1961 under the name "Bulgarian Film Festival"; it ran annually until 1974 and after that it was usually held every two years. The 34th Golden Rose Film Festival was held September 19 to 25, 2016.
Glory is a 2016 Bulgarian drama film written and directed by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov. The second film in the directors' "newspaper-clippings trilogy", the film is a social-realist parable exploring the themes of corruption, class differences, and the rural-urban divide, in contemporary Bulgarian society. It was selected as the Bulgarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
The Father is a 2019 Bulgarian drama film directed by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov. The film premiered at the 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival where it won the Crystal Globe award for best film. It was selected as the Bulgarian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards.
Masoud Sakhvatdoust is an Iranian writer, composer and musician. He is the composer of more than 50 international films.
In the Heart of the Machine is a 2021 Bulgarian thriller drama film directed by Martin Makariev from a screenplay co-written with Boby Zahariev. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Alexander Sano, Hristo Shopov, Igor Angelov, Ivaylo Hristov, Julian Vergov, Hristo Petkov, Stoyan Doychev, Vladimir Zombori and Bashar Rahal.
