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Yana Marinova and Luiza Grigorova-Makariev in Wildlings by Martin Makariev
SOFIA: Critical for culture and film worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was equally difficult for the film industry in Bulgaria.
The first severe restrictions of social and cultural life came after the vote of the Bulgarian Parliament in favour of a state of emergency from 13 March 2020, imposing a lockdown for a month. All culture and entertainment venues including cinemas were obliged to close.
As a result, only days after the official announcement of its 2020 lineup, the Sofia FF had to postpone its 24th edition, which was about to kick off on 12 March 2020 and to be followed by the 17th Sofia Meetings.
SOFIA: Stefan Kitanov, the director of the Sofia International Film Fest, announced that the 25th anniversary edition will still take place in the context of the ongoing pandemic, but will be split into two parts.
The first part is to take place 11-31 March 2021 and a second part will be announced as a special edition later during the year. The festival will be held both physically and online in an extended time frame. The Bulgarian government authorised theatres to operate at 30% of their capacity as of 1 February 2021, and the festival’s opening ceremony is planned to take place in the National Palace of Culture. The Sofia IFF was one of the first festivals in 2020 to be affected by the spread of COVID-19 across Europe.