Balgarianovinite.com The second day of the 15th Harlequin International Youth Media Festival Wednesday featured competition screenings, professional discussions and an online workshop with international film industry professionals at Nu Boyana Film Studios in Sofia on Tuesday.
The day opened with films competing in the fiction, documentary and animation categories, with young filmmakers presenting their productions before an international jury and audience. Following the screenings, jurors offered professional feedback, emphasizing the importance of strong screenplays, compelling openings and clear storytelling. Among those providing guidance were Magdalena Gigova, chair of the jury in the journalism category and a member of the film jury, and Dr. Rositsa Mladenova, a longtime Bulgarian National Television director, lecturer at NATFA and one of the festival’s founders.
One of the featured entries was “For Freedom,” a documentary by Andrea Todorova about Bulgarian revolutionary Todor Angelov, one of the leaders of the Belgian resistance against Nazi Germany. After the screening, the filmmaker’s classmates presented the project, while the jury offered recommendations for its further development.
Another film that drew attention was a documentary by 12-year-old Konstantin Iliev from Bucharest, the festival’s youngest participant. His film explores the philanthropic work of brothers Evlogi and Hristo Georgiev in support of Bulgarian education. Iliev also spoke about the making of his documentary after its screening.
The competition entries were evaluated by an international jury chaired by Prof. Stanislav Semerdzhiev, who participated online from Shanghai. The panel also included playwright, theatre critic and NATFA lecturer Assoc. Prof. Yuriy Dachev, joining from Sofia, as well as Bulgarian-American producer Irena Alexandrova and Serbian-American actress Natasha Pavlovich, who joined remotely from the United States.
The day’s programme also included an online workshop on film production and acting led by Alexandrova and Pavlovich. They shared their experience in the U.S. film industry and encouraged participants to gain practical experience, remain persistent and continue developing their creative skills. The discussion covered topics including preparing for auditions, working with producers and developing an individual artistic approach.
During the festival, Dr. Mladenova also gave an interview for BTA highlighting the event’s history and its mission to connect young creators with leading film and television professionals. She thanked Nu Boyana Film Studios for supporting the festival, as well as the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) for its media partnership.
This year’s competition features young filmmakers from Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Portugal, Estonia, Georgia, Romania and several other countries.
The festival concludes on July 2 with the final competition events, a roundtable discussion, the music contest “Cinema – My Love, My Song,” and an awards ceremony for the winning participants. Young Filmmakers Showcase Their Work on Second Day of Harlequin Youth Media Festival 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-07-01 19:48:00 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