Balgarianovinite.com Bulgarian actress Plamena Getova won the award for Best Actress of the Mediterranean for her performance in the film Flesh, which competed in the 5th “Across the Lake” Balkan and Mediterranean Film Festival, held at multiple venues in North Macedonia. Flesh is the feature debut of director Dimitar Stoyanovich.
The film explores the struggle between the flesh and the spirit through the lives of people confronted with insurmountable circumstances. It previously won the Audience Award at the 29th Sofia International Film Festival.
The award was accepted by Flesh producer Nikolay Mutafchiev, who travelled to Dojran for the presentation of the Bulgarian film selected for this year’s “Across the Lake” festival. The film was shown on the final evening of the competition programme.
The festival officially closed on Wednesday evening. The three-member jury awarded the Grand Prix for Best Film to the Cypriot production Hold on to Me. The Best Director award went to Serbia’s Aleksandar Radivojevic for Karmadonna. Belgian directors Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani were honoured for Reflection in a Dead Diamond. Belgium’s Yannick Renier received the Best Actor award.
The jury recognized the Iranian film The Gambler for outstanding creative achievement under exceptional production conditions, while Dushan Kardalevski won the Best Cinematography award for Coma, directed by North Macedonia’s Agim Abdula. The Best Original Score award went to Djordje Milenovic for Karmadonna, the festival organizers said.
The competition featured six feature-length films, 16 short films and 13 student productions. This year’s special focus was on contemporary Iranian cinema, with five Iranian films screened between July 8 and 15. A panel discussion entitled “Who will direct the future of contemporary Iranian cinema – Can Iranian cinema respond to the challenges of modern life?” was also held, festival founder Jani Bojadzi told BTA. Bojadzi is a graduate of Sofia’s National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA).
This year’s recipient of the 2026 Meto Jovanovski Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film Acting was Tony Naumovski, the only actor from North Macedonia to have built a career in theatre, film and television in New York. Born in Sydney, Australia, Naumovski graduated from Stefan Danailov’s acting class at NATFA in Sofia before continuing his studies in Sydney and at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Los Angeles and New York. He has received 14 acting awards and several nominations at more than 80 film festivals worldwide.
The 5th “Across the Lake” Balkan and Mediterranean Film Festival was held at three venues in North Macedonia: Dojran, Strumica and Gevgelija. Through workshops on developing and producing graduation and debut short-film screenplays, students and emerging filmmakers competed for equipment grants that would enable them to produce their films. Meanwhile, the “Brave New Wave” programme, organized in cooperation with the MEDIA strand of Creative Europe, its offices in Bulgaria and Serbia, and Brainster Academy, aimed to familiarize participants with the practical applications and future potential of artificial intelligence in film production. Bulgaria’s Plamena Getova Named Best Actress of Mediterranean at North Macedonia Film Festival 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-07-16 09:01:20 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law