At the end of the year, in holiday season comes the best time to share with the audience some highlights from the program of the 21st Sofia Film Fest!
*
With the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes and San Sebastian 2016, winner of the LUX Prize of the European Parliament in 2016, with four nominations for the European Film Awards, which will be awarded at the end of this week in Poland, the third film by Maren Ade - "Toni Erdmann" will be one of the important highlights of the 21st Sofia International Film Festival (9-19 March 2017).
During the week the film will be shown in two exclusive screenings in the LUX prize days - in Shumen (December 6) and Stara Zagora (December 10) and in March all buffs will have a chance to meet warm, poignant, funny story, dedicated to the complex relationship between a workaholic daughter who holds a responsible position in the corporate structure (Sandra Hüller) and its unconventional, smart and funny elderly dad (Peter Simonischek). This co-production between Germany, Austria and Romania premiered at Cannes, where the cast and crew walked the red carpet with ... the kuker masks from Bulgaria. What is the reason? You'll find out in March when watching in Sofia "Toni Erdmann".
*
Among the hit titles that will be included in the program of the 21st SIFF is the newest film by the master of modern French cinema François Ozon ("Eight Women", "Swimming Pool"). "Frantz" is a fascinating exercise in style in black and white spectrum, which takes the viewers in the days after World War I to tell them a story full of love and dramatic twists. Anna mourns her fiance and each day brings flowers to his grave. It was there that the German girl meets a mysterious Frenchman who also came to pay tribute to the deceased Frantz. The co-production between France and Germany premiered at the Venice festival - the oldest film forum in the world and Paula Beer received "Marcello Mastroianni" Award for best young actress. Pierre Nini is in the role of the young Frenchman - an actor we know from the role of the famous designer in Jalil Lesper's film "Yves Saint Laurent", screened at our festival several years ago.
*
The famous Serbian director Goran Paskaljevic will be one of the special guests on the 21st SIFF and will personally present his latest work "Land of the Gods" ("Dev Bhoomi") to the Bulgarian audience. The film is a co-production between Serbia and India, and the focus of the story is the return of main character Rahul (Victor Banerjee, a legend in Indian cinema) in its birthplace in the Himalayas, where he had fled more than 40 years ago. Authors of the script are very Banerjee and Paskaljevic, the premiere of the film was three months ago in the program of Toronto (the only non-competitive festival in the "Big Five" - Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Toronto and Sundance), and the result of joint cooperation between Serbia and India is very intriguing and challenging ....
There will be more news in anticipation of March and 21st Sofia Film Fest!