Sofia DocuMental is an international film festival with a focus on human rights. The festival is organised by the Balkan Documentary Centre and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in partnership with the Czech Centre Sofia and the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Sofia.
The third edition will take place this autumn between 19 and 28 September and its main theme is again the defence of democratic values – freedom of speech and the fight against discrimination. After each screening, there will be a discussion with the film crew or experts in the field covered by the film.
This year Sofia DocumentMental will show a strong selection of more than 25 documentaries from Bulgaria, Europe and the world. The programme includes a selection of the most valuable documentary films premiered in Bulgaria in the past year. We will see titles from world A-fests – Berlinale, Cannes, Sundance, IDFA-Amsterdam, DocLeipzig and many more.
The films are not only tied to themes such as equality, ecology, media freedom, but also to important events such as the war in Ukraine, the refugee crisis, political instability in Europe and the rise of far-right influences.
Films about phenomena such as TikTok, Navalny, internet influencers and the two most anticipated Bulgarian documentaries of the year, “The Cars We Used to Invade Capitalism” and “You Have No Place in Our City” are in focus.
Besides an international film festival, Sofia DocumentMental is also a creative laboratory for documentary filmmaking through its platform Balkan Documentary Market including targeted trainings, presence of international award-winning authors, experts who support and promote the role of documentary filmmaking for the just and critical development of society.
“The main goal of Sofia DocumentMental is through our programs to make Bulgarian and international documentary cinema reach older and younger audiences, and to make Sofia one of the significant European capitals for cinema.
Our film festival will prove this potential every year and – I am sure – will gradually become a strong international forum for interesting and innovative cultural events from all over the world”, says Martička Bojilova, Director.
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