The Bulgarian National Film Centre has announced an increase in its budget for production support.
Unchanged for 3 years, it will increase by 11.5% in 2019, from €6.74 million to €7.52 million. The budget will be split between five categories: feature films, feature-length documentaries, short films, animated films and “small budget” films.
The fund allocated to the latter, typically films with a budget of less than €300,000, has increased by 70% to €1,288,456, while the amount for documentaries and animated films is little changed since previous years. The budget for drama films increases by 11%.
The Bulgarian Film Centre also invests in minority co-productions. This investment represents the biggest budget increase: 53% more than in 2018, i.e. €920,000. The Bulgarian National Film Centre’s director, Jana Karaivanova, commented on this significant increase, saying that co-productions are “vital for the Bulgarian film industry” and are “beneficial both financially and creatively”. Funding will be given to selected film projects 4 times a year.
As well as helping film production, the Centre is also investing in two Bulgarian festivals, the Golden Rose, for drama films, and the Golden Rhyton, for documentaries.
