September 19th

OPENING EVENT

20:00, LARGO

The Killing of a Journalist (2022)
Dir. Matt Sarnecki
Countries: Denmark, Czech Republic, USA
Duration: 102 min.

On the night of February 21, 2018, investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, both just 27 years old, were brutally murdered in their home. It was the first targeted killing of a journalist in Slovakia's history, and shocked citizens protested on a scale not seen since the fall of communism. Kuciak was well known for covering questionable financial connections between politicians and "elite" business tycoons, namely millionaire Marián Kocner. When police failed to meaningfully investigate the prime suspect, journalists mobilized the public.

During Sofia DocuMental, there will be a master class with director Matt Sarnecki! More info on Balkan Documentary Market's page.

September 28th

CLOSING SCREENING

18:00, LUMIERE CINEMA

The Cars We Drove Into Capitalism (2021)
Directors: Boris Missirkov, Georgi Bogdanov
Countries: Bulgaria; Germany; Denmark; Croatia; Czech Republic
Duration: 93 min.

During the Cold War, almost every family in the Eastern Bloc treasured and impeccably maintained the car they had waited for so long. This film looks at the fascinating history of socialist automobiles based on select accounts which portray the events and hardships of the time with a touch of humour. The automobile was also seen as a weapon against the imperialist class enemy. For most communist countries, the car was an instrument of propaganda, used to symbolize technological progress and the equality, if not the superiority of their system.