The 12th edition of the CineLibri International Book and Film Festival opened at the National Palace of Culture (NDK) in Sofia on Thursday evening under the motto “Civilization of the Spectacle”.
The opening ceremony in NDK’s Hall 1 was followed by the Bulgarian premiere of Danny Boyle’s film Ink, which opened the Venice Film Festival earlier this year.
The evening began with a performance by comedian, journalist and television host Nikolaos Tsitiridis, who entertained the audience with a parody news bulletin.
“Bulgaria will host a World Cup football match during the next ice age. We are all very excited. A ten-point plan has even been drawn up, with the first point being: Let’s not embarrass ourselves,” he joked.
CineLibri founder, president and artistic director Jacqueline Wagenstein continued in a similarly humorous vein.
“The 12th edition of CineLibri has set itself the noble task of saving culture from becoming entertainment. That is why it offers you not one but 501 entertainments,” she said.
Wagenstein also promised there would be no lengthy official speeches, drawing applause from the audience.
“We realized that nobody has ever said: ‘Wonderful film, but I wish there had been a few more welcoming speeches’,” she added.
She promised audiences films that would make them laugh, cry, feel angry and question what they had seen, describing the programme as entertainment with substance.
This year’s festival programme features 75 films and more than 40 special events.
The international jury, comprising Jim Sheridan, Clive Russell, Jacob Jonia, Maria Jurado and Teodora Markova, will announce the winner of the Best Literary Adaptation Award in the feature film competition on November 3 at NDK’s Hall 1.
The winner of the documentary film competition will also be announced that evening.
The awards ceremony will conclude with a preview screening of Fatherland, the latest film by Pawel Pawlikowski, described as a black-and-white biographical drama.
THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-15 18:53:17
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