Three competition programmes with a Bulgarian and international focus
Sofia DocuMental now features three competition programmes with a Bulgarian and international focus
Alongside its traditional award for Best Female Director, this year’s edition of Sofia DocuMental will honour the Best Bulgarian Documentary and the Best International Human Rights Film. Martichka Bozilova and representatives of the partners – the Bulgarian Women’s Fund, Amnesty International Bulgaria and Dnevnik – spoke in more detail about the three competition programmes during a press conference held at the Central Hall Cultural Stage.
This year, the seventh in the history of the Sofia DocuMental documentary film festival focusing on human rights, an award will be presented for the first time for the best Bulgarian documentary film, which, with skill and commitment, tells important stories about contemporary society, giving a voice to different perspectives and inspiring dialogue, awareness and engagement. The winner will be selected by Marko Garba, creative director of the BelDocs festival, Vanya Dimitrova, content manager at NeterraTV Plus, and the Croatian-Dutch director Tatjana Božić. As with the Balkan Documentary Centre Award, worth 2,000 euros, the films in the competition will also be in the running for the ‘Dnevnik’ Award – media distribution and strategy.
Another new addition is the competition programme for Best International Human Rights Film, which the festival is organising with the support of Amnesty International Bulgaria. The award will be presented to the best documentary film that courageously exposes human rights violations and social injustices, giving a voice to marginalised communities and inspiring empathy, awareness and action through the power of documentary filmmaking. This selection will be made by the North Macedonian documentary filmmaker, curator and researcher Kumyana Novakova, the Romanian journalist and documentary filmmaker Lina Vdovii, and the Bulgarian journalist and documentary filmmaker Venenlin Petkov.
The seventh edition will also feature the competition programme, which has become a hallmark of Sofia DocuMental, promoting gender equality and supporting the work of female directors. The Grand Prize, traditionally supported by the Bulgarian Women’s Fund, and the Sofia DocuMental statuette – the glass hammer, designed by Svetlana Mircheva – will be awarded by an international jury comprising the Polish film critic, member of the European Film Academy and FIPRESCI, Ola Salwa, Romanian journalist and director Radu Ciorniciuc, and Swiss documentary film expert Charlotte Ducos.
This year, too, audience members will be able to vote for their favourite film from the festival programme, which will be honoured with the ‘Audience Award’, sponsored by Kaufland Bulgaria.
Tickets for all films in the Sofia Documental 2026 programme are now on sale. For more information, visit the festival’s website at documental.bg
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