From 1 to 5 November, Sofia hosted the 21st edition of Early Bird International Student Film Festival, organized by American Foundation for Bulgaria.
For another year, the Foundation provided talented young filmmakers from around the world with the opportunity to present their films to a wide audience. During the five festival days, guests from Romania, Georgia, the Netherlands, Turkey, Israel, Greece, and Hungary, together with their Bulgarian colleagues, got to know the work of other participants, discussed challenges in the creative process, and built valuable professional connections.
American Foundation for Bulgaria provided a prize fund of USD 4,700, and an esteemed international jury awarded prizes in 12 categories, giving confidence and inspiration to young creators at the beginning of their professional journey.
Awards at the 21st edition of Early Bird
- Early Bird Grand Award – Houdini / Mariusz Rusinski / Poland
- Best Bulgarian Film – Posterity / Emil Alexandrov / Bulgaria
- Best Foreign Film – Tarik / Adem Tutić / Serbia
- President of the Jury Award – Lion’s Wrinkle and Crow’s Feet / Juliette Léonard / Belgium
- Best Fiction – The Contact / Mert Erez / Turkey
- Best Animation – Ravenera / Teodor Ralev / Bulgaria
- Best Documentary – Offside – An Unequal Game / Katja Stirnemann / Switzerland
- Best Directing – Broken Magic / Platon Ogarev, Marcjanna Lelek / Poland
- Best Screenplay – August / Dan Grabnar / Serbia
- Best Cinematography – Things I Remember from the Summer of 2004 / Bat Sa’ar Raviv / Israel
- Best Editing – The Funeral / Petya Maleshevska / Bulgaria
- SEECS Award – Clay / Kristian Georgiev / Bulgaria
- Special Mention – Courage / Margot Jacquet, Nathan Baudry, Marion Choudin, Jeanne Desplanques, Lise Delcroix, Salomé Cognon / France
Each year, the recipient of the Grand Award also receives an original sculpture. As a symbolic gesture, the award for student filmmakers is created by students. Since 2019, the American Foundation for Bulgaria has partnered with the National Academy of Arts to produce the award. This year, the Grand Award winner received an original sculpture created by Vasil Marinov, a fourth-year student in the Ceramics and Glass program at the National Academy of Arts, under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elizar Milev.
With each edition, Early Bird continues to uphold its mission – to give voice to young filmmakers and their perspective on the world.