Contact us
The 20th edition of the International Red Cross and Health Film Festival offered viewers and guests 26 premiere films, including feature and documentary, short and feature-length titles focused on various manifestations of humanism. The screenings were at the Festival and Congress Center, Radio Varna and ReBonkers, and during the festival we saw films from Brazil, Ukraine, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Italy, Israel, Romania, Germany, the Netherlands, Kyrgyzstan, etc. with some of the tapes being introduced by their authors.
The patron of the festival was the vice-president of the Republic of Bulgaria Iliyana Yotova, artistic director Prof. Bozhidar Manov, and the overall preparation, organization and conduct was led by Ilko Raev, member of the National Assembly of the BCHK and chairman of the BCHK-Varna. Among the guests of the festival were the actresses Anya Pencheva, Katerina Evro, Iskra Radeva, Maria Statulova, their colleague Lyuben Chatalov, the directors Prof. Stanimir Trifonov, Vasil Goranov, Lisa Boeva, Alexander Donev, the producer and operator Georgi Cholakov, Kamen Balkanski - director of Media Europe, the teacher at NATFIZ Prof. Veselin Raeva, the musician Chavdar Iliev.
Official guests at the opening were Academician Hristo Grigorov - Chairman of the Bulgarian Red Cross, Prof. Dr. Krasimir Gigov - General Director of the Bulgarian Red Cross, Romel Velev - Chairman of the Red Cross of the Republic of North Macedonia, Prof. Antonia Dimova - Dean of the Faculty of Public Health of the Medical University of Varna, Metropolitan John - Varna and Veliko Preslav St. Metropolia and Rear Admiral Kiril Mihailov – Commander of the Navy.
Within the framework of the festival, a conference was held on the topic "The role of the Bulgarian Red Cross in providing psychosocial support to vulnerable groups and mental health", dedicated to the provision of effective assistance programs in emergency humanitarian situations. The conversation was moderated by Desislava Ilieva from the organization, and the guests were Yasen Slivenski - director of the Disaster Management Directorate, Dilyana Dimitrova - director of the BCHK Directorate, representatives of the Regional Councils of the BCHK in Varna, Dobrich, Plovdiv, Yambol , as well as partner organizations, government structures, psychologists, representatives of the academic community.
On June 18, 2023, at its meeting, the jury of the 20th International Festival of Red Cross and Health Films composed of:
1. Dr. Stefan Komandarev - Director - Chairman;
2. Viktor Bozhinov – director;
3. Ioana Bukovska – Davidova - actress;
4. Lyudmil Stanev – writer;
5. Associate Professor Yuriy Dachev – screenwriter;
6. BJ Brownie - director, producer, writer;
7. Prof. Dr. Dimitar Stavrev - lecturer at the MU "Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov";
RESOLVED to award the following:
REWARDS
The grand prize of the festival was awarded to the film "One Provincial Hospital", (2022) Bulgaria - Germany, directors Iliyan Metev, Ivan Chertov, Zlatina Teneva.
Special Jury Prize - for the film About Me, (2022) Netherlands, directed by Ali Asghari.
Best Director Award - Denis Bozic for "A New Broadway", (2021) Bosnia and Herzegovina
Best Screenplay Award - Marina Er Gorbach for the film Klondike, (2022) Ukraine
A special award goes to the film "Limbo", (2023) Bulgaria, directed by Julia Pastrakova.
The film "The Last Dance", (2022) Switzerland - France, directed by Delphine Leherissey, also received a special award.
RED CROSS FILMS CATEGORY
Award for the best film - "Do good - 100 years of the Bulgarian Youth Red Cross", (2021) Bulgaria, director Stanislav Terziev.
The Special Award in the Red Cross and Red Crescent Films category of the CHAIRMAN of the Bulgarian Red Cross - "Is there a gene for humanity?" (2022) Russia, directors: Alexandra Govorchenko, Viktor Der, Margarita Zariuta, Roman Isak, Sergey Klein, Catherine Klein
The Special Award in the Red Cross and Red Crescent Films category "Courage Has a Face" (2023) Romania, directed by Raluca Mihalice.
The special award in the HEALTH FILMS category of the RECTOR of the Medical University - Varna - for the film "Doctor", (2023) Kyrgyzstan, director Alizhan Nasirov.
FEATURE FILM CATEGORY
Award for Best Feature Film - The Last Dance, (2022) Switzerland - France, directed by Delphine Leherisei.
The Special Award of the Mayor of Varna - "Captive Voyage" (2022) France, director Christian Carrion.
Special Award in the FEATURE FILMS category - "Klondike", (2022) Ukraine, directed by Marina Er Gorbach.
SHORT FEATURE FILMS CATEGORY
Award for Best Short Feature Film - About Me, (2022) The Netherlands, directed by Ali Asghari.
Special Award in the SHORT FEATURE FILMS category - The Midwife, (2021) France, directed by Anne-Sophie Baillie.
FEATURE DOCUMENTARY FILMS CATEGORY
Award for Best Feature Documentary - A New Broadway (2021) Bosnia and Herzegovina, directed by Denis Bozic.
Special award in the category DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILMS - "You have no place in our city", (2022) Bulgaria, director Nikolay Stefanov.
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILMS CATEGORY
The award for the best short documentary film - "Limbo", 2023 Bulgaria, director Julia Pastrakova.
Special award in the DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILMS category - "Rava" (2021), Lebanon - France, director Camille Toulme.
Second special award in the DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILMS category - "St. Marino' (2022), Brazil, directed by Leide Jacob.
CATEGORY CROSS SECTION MOVIES
The Best Cross-Sectional Film Award - Markus, 2023 Brazil, directed by Felipe Codeco.
Special award in the category CROSS SECTION FILMS - "Sunflower Ship 2023" (2023), Bulgaria, director Vasil Goranov.
