The 38th competition for the Golden Rose was held from September 24th to October 1st in Varna, Bulgaria. Of the 19 films in competition, Ivaylo Hristov’s Fear was awarded Best Film “for its ability to tell a story about daunting issues with a certain irony.” This is the second time the director has won the Golden Rose for Best Picture, after his 2015 film Losers.
Fear also won Svetlana Yancheva Best Actress award. The film is about a widow, Svetla, who has recently lost her teaching job. Living in a village near the Turkish border, she sees many migrants passing through on their way to Western Europe. While hunting in the forest one day she helps one of these refugees. Soon they have to face the racist reactions of the villagers who want to drive the man away.
The Best Actor Award went to Bulgarian Ivan Barnev for his role in Blessed Are the Meek by Wojciech Todorow and Georgi Stoyanov. Barnev plays the guardian angel of a young boy who has run away from home after his mother’s death.
Actress Yana Titova won the Best First Feature Award for A Dose of Happiness – an exploration of the challenges facing a young mother addicted to heroin.
The City of Varna Special Award went to Viktor Shushkov’s 18% Grey, a European co-production between Bulgaria, Germany, Serbia, North Macedonia and Belgium. The Special Jury Prize for Best Director and Best Screenplay went to Ivan Vladimirov for Scenes from the Life of an Actress.
The jury decided not to give an award to any of the short films. A special mention, however, was given to Slava Doycheva’s Eggshells.
Sources :
https://cineuropa.org
https://www.filmneweurope.com
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