Festivals

behind the building of the Earth and Man National Museum
Charles Perrault’s fairy-tale characters come to life on our stage!
“… Once upon a time, there was a little girl so beautiful that there was no one more beautiful in the whole world. Her mother loved her with all her heart, and her grandmother loved her even more. Her kind grandmother knitted her a little red cap that suited her so well that everywhere people began to call her Little Red Riding Hood. And so on, and so forth…”
Author Charles Perrault
Adaptation by Keva Apostolova
Director Georgi Georgiev
Set Design by Vesela Sarivanova
Music by Razvigor Popov
Cast: Lili Shomova, Robert Yanakiev, Ivet Radulova, Anatoli Lazarov, Donka Avramova-Bocheva, Mariana Zhikich
Running Time: 60 minutes
Recommended Age: 2+

In front of the Presidency

The ceremonial change of the guard in front of the Presidency marks the national and public holidays in Bulgaria. The officialchange of the guard takes place on the first Wednesday of every month at 12:00 o’clock.

behind the building of the Earth and Man National Museum
We will close this year’s edition of the Festival of Bulgarian and European Children’s and Youth Cinema with *John Vardar vs. the Galaxy*.
The craziest and most colourful animated film for children and grown-up children, *John Vardar vs. the Galaxy*, takes us on an indescribable interstellar adventure. Dubbed into Bulgarian by the much-loved Orlin Pavlov, Silvia Petkova, 100 Kila and Kitodar Todorov, now only one very ordinary bloke from planet Earth with the resounding name of John Vardar can get us out of this zany mess of intergalactic proportions. When Zark, a creature resembling a shapeless rubbish bin, abducts John onto his spaceship, he is forced to battle green monsters, a blue alien hacker, tin robots and pink man-eaters to save himself. The reward, however, is well worth it – new, genuine friends and a great love.
This zany animated film won’t solve our problems with heating bills, but it will at least make us forget about them for a while and have a laugh at the cinema with our little ones – and those not-so-little ones too. ‘John Vardar vs. the Galaxy’ is a charming, quirky and hilariously funny family film – for everyone who has ever dreamt of going into space and believes that aliens exist. And even if they don’t.
The galaxy’s salvation lies in the hands of the very last person who should ever be entrusted with such a momentous task!
Genre: animation, children’s, family, sci-fi, comedy
Countries: co-production between North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Hungary
Year of production: 2024
Running time: 86 mins
Dubbed into Bulgarian
Director and screenwriter: Goce Tsvetanovski
Art director: Mihail Dimitrievski
Music: Miroslav Dimov
Voices: Orlin Pavlov, Yavor Yanakiev – 100 Kila, Silvia Petkova, Kitodar Todorov, Alexander Kalinov, Bogomil Kalinov, Kalin Kalinov
Producers: Alan Castillo, the Kalinov Brothers, Eva Konrad, Lado Skorin
The festival is held with the financial support of the National Film Centre

behind the building of the Earth and Man National Museum
“Golden Cockerel 2025” in the category
BEST ACTOR Yordan Rusin
for his role as MOSYU BONIFAS
The Cannes Film Festival! The most glamorous of all possible occasions for celebration. In the late afternoon, just a few hours before the triumphant premiere of her latest film, the lifeless body of the last true diva of the global film world—Grace Gervais—is discovered on the terrace of a luxury hotel.
The cast of suspected murderers is impressively colorful and even amusing: an extravagant actor, a jealous impresario, a flamboyant blonde, and a rookie thief. Each of them has their own version of what happened, and every one is ready to instantly rewrite the chronology of events, just to get their hands on the murdered star’s diamonds. Only the hotel manager—Monsieur Boniface, an unproven descendant of Hercule Poirot—is capable of uncovering the truth amid the thick fog of delusions, clumsy lies, and lustful thoughts.
The lively French Riviera has never before witnessed a more unpredictable series of irreversible events!
Never has Hollywood offered such a catalog of criminal conspiracies! Is it possible for real life to be this unrestrained, or is it simply that when you throw a few celebrities together, things are bound to spiral out of control?
Comedy or crime—you choose! Or why not both?
Author Robin Howden
Translation and Direction Ventsislav Asenov
Set Design and Costumes Chaika Petrusheva
Music Pavel Vasev
Stage Combat Emil Videv
Photographer Ivan Donchev
Starring Lily Shomova, Boyan Mladenov, Anatoli Lazarov, Georgi Nyagolov, Kostadinka Aratlkova/Nikol Otashliyska, Yordan Rasin
Runtime: 120 minutes

Rated 16+

Original Production
Cast: Pavel Ivanov, Stoyan Doichev, Filip Bukov, Hristo Padev, Alexander Deyanov – Skiller
Director: Ivaylo Nenov
Writer: Vanya Georgieva
Set Designer: Mirela Vasileva
Live music: Alexander Deyanov – Skiller
Choreographer: Alexander Mandzhukov
Duration: 2 hours
If you wake up on Sunday after a Friday night, it means the party was epic. Filip Bukov, Pavel Ivanov, Hristo Padev, Stoyan Doichev, and Skiller, for whom “Friday night” transitions directly into “Sunday morning.” The new original production reunites the four actors with the beatbox master in the sequel to the comedy dedicated to the long-awaited Friday night.
The five of them cleverly skip Saturday and glide into the calm waters of Sunday. And nothing can disrupt the serene flow of their day off, except… that mysterious, yet unsettling, conclusion to Friday night. Having sown the seed of doubt, it shatters the dream of peace on the day off and turns Sunday into a field mined with shameful memories and guesswork.
The actors once again slip into different roles, reenacting comical incidents that link the experiences of Friday night with Sunday morning. And they try to answer a series of questions. When does Sunday morning begin? With the last cocktail and the final blackout on Friday? Or with the first sounds of a drill violently piercing the brain? Why do we skip Saturday afternoon, and do we even have a chance to experience it? Not if the party was really good.
The music and the entire soundtrack, of course, are by Skiller. The director is Ivaylo Nenov, the scriptwriter is Vanya Georgieva, the set designer is Mirela Vasileva, and the choreographer is Alexander Mandzhukov.
You can tell how Sunday will end as early as the morning. The only morning capable of giving birth to a dream and, minutes later, crushing it to the ground.
The production is suitable for audiences 16 and older.

The Beatles Legend is a unique multimedia experience that combines live music, vintage instruments, lighting effects and spectacular video footage, taking the audience on a journey through the extraordinary career of The Beatles.
The show unfolds in five acts, each dedicated to a key moment in the history of the legendary Liverpool quartet.
Each act features set changes and faithfully recreated costumes, whilst video projections on a large screen enrich the narrative with archive footage, animations and period footage
On stage, The Beatbox – recognised as Europe’s leading Beatles tribute band – recreates with remarkable precision the sounds and emotions that have made The Beatles immortal. The use of authentic period instruments and costumes, crafted by the very same ateliers that dressed the original quartet, ensures a flawless historical recreation.
From early hits such as ‘Please Please Me’ to the artistic maturity of ‘The Long and Winding Road’ – and including monumental tracks such as ‘Come Together’ and ‘Help!’ – ‘The Beatles Legend’ offers a thrilling journey through the music and legend of the band that revolutionised rock history.
This is an unmissable event for anyone wishing to relive the energy, magic and charisma of ‘The Fab Four’.

The Dirty Talk Mailbox presents:
Asen Blatechki, Petya Dikova, Mihail Stoyanov, Tino, Geri Turiyska, Alena Vergova

“A Game for Two” is a comedy about the misunderstandings and miscommunications in relationships between men and women.
Actors Sofia Bobcheva and Alexander Kadiev take on 16 different roles of people from our time—TV hosts, playmates, folk singers, salespeople, intellectuals, astrologers, patriots…
Author Ivo Siromahov tells, with irony and a smile, the stories of several couples who find themselves in absurd situations while searching for love, understanding, money, or fame.
In “A Game for Two,” the audience will get a behind-the-scenes look at the theater to see how a performance is prepared. Before the audience’s eyes, the actors transition from one role to another, take on different personas, and introduce us to the process of creating the show.
Because life is a game in which we all participate. The important thing is to do it with a smile.
Sofia Summer Fest, Sofia’s summer festival.
With the support of the Sofia Municipality, the Ministry of Culture, and Urban Mobility.

Summer Movie in the Shade! A ticket for two for only 5 euros!
Sofia Summer Fest is launching a summer movie in the shade. Come enjoy the cool breeze while watching high-quality Bulgarian films.
After graduating in London, artist Zvezda is forced to return to Bulgaria to help her widowed mother. The determined Zvezda manages to organize her first solo exhibition at a renowned Sofia gallery, but the planned triumph of the opening is postponed due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Zvezda decides to isolate herself in the gallery among her paintings as a living sculpture, to be viewed both through the windows and online in a state of radical exposure, risking not only herself but also her mother’s peace of mind and health. However, the fame she achieves during a time of scarcity of cultural events comes at the expense of her mother’s humanity and life.

“Base X” presents “Do You Swear by the Children?”
She is a psychotherapist; he is a lawyer. They are a couple as much in love as they are superstitious. One evening, they swear to remain faithful to each other for ten years, for the sake of their children.
Time passes, and the end of this “term of fidelity” draws near. And with it comes the moment of truth—how heavy is it to say “I swear”?
As they prepare to cross this long-awaited milestone and demonstrate a clear conscience, morality, and propriety, doubt begins to show more and more in both of them. Bending morality in their own way, the couple enters a spiral of lies from which escape is nearly impossible.
Salomé Lelouch’s new play, “Do You Swear by the Children?”, takes us into situations that are as intractable as they are real. Because they are part of the reality of romantic relationships today. The lead roles are played by Vesela Babinova and Vladimir Zombori, who are a couple offstage as well. The cast is rounded out by Daniel Kukushev. The director is Chris Sharkov, and the set designer is Vanina Tsandeva.
Following the success of “Don’t Say That!” starring Teodora Dukhovnikova and Zahari Baharov, this is the second play by French author Salomé Lelouche to be staged in Bulgaria. The comedy captivates with its relevance and its sharp sense of humor. The text is lively, surprising, and intelligent, and the actors compete in an endless battle of small secrets and big lies.
Cast: Vesela Babinova, Vladimir Zombori,
Ekaterina Lazarevska
Daniel Kukushev or Alexander Kenderov
Director: Chris Sharkov