site.btaUPDATED 42nd Golden Rose Bulgarian Feature Film Festival Opens in Varna

The 42nd Golden Rose Bulgarian Feature Film Festival opened in the Black Sea city of Varna on Thursday evening with a screening of The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent, a co-production of Croatia, Bulgaria, France, and Slovenia.

"Live your life in such a way that makes you needed by others," Bulgarian actress Tsvetana Maneva, who is the festival’s spokesface in 2024, said, addressing the audience at the opening of the event. "Nothing brings more meaning to life than the feeling of being needed. When everyone feels valued and is willing to support one another, everything will fall into place," Maneva added.

The actress, who turned 80 this year, said that Varna changed the course of her life "in a special way", leading her to leave her hometown, Plovdiv, to pursue the goal of making the Varna Summer International Theatre Festival a reality – a festival just 12 years younger than the Golden Rose film festival.

She was handed flowers by the director of the Golden Rose film festival and National Film Center (NFC) Executive Director, Peter Todorov, and Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev. She was honoured with a screening of a video created by the festival’s team and looking at her most iconic films over the years.

The opening ceremony was also attended by Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Kiril Valchev, who presented Maneva with a collection of news items from BTA’s archives dedicated to her. "Even the NFC could not trace the news back as far as the BTA. While a life can be measured in many ways, one sure-fire method is through the news," he said. Valchev noted that Maneva first appeared on the pages of the Agency’s bulletins on February 1, 1968, when she had just turned 24. On that day, BTA reported on the first screening of the film Swedish Kings, directed by Lyudmil Kirkov and starring the Bulgarian actress. The Agency wrote about the meeting of the production's creative team with the audience, who warmly received Maneva. Of the many reports that followed, Valchev singled out one dated October 3, 1974, when another feature she stars in, Tough Love, was screened in Sofia. BTA recalled that Maneva received the best female role award for her part in Ivan Andonov’s directorial debut, which premiered at the Golden Rose festival.

Valchev also presented the actress with a collage of photographs from BTA’s archives, including one from the 12th edition of the Golden Rose festival in 1973. In his words, her steady presence in the news stems from her being "not just an artist, but an artist with strong character". The BTA Director General recalled that the issue of LIK magazine the Agency devoted to the 40th Golden Rose festival two years ago features an interview with Maneva. In it, she said that "no matter our disagreements, we must remain united as a community and that we should demand more from ourselves than from others". "That mindset probably explains why Tsvetana Maneva’s words will make BTA news again tonight," Valchev noted.

Attending the festival’s opening were also Deputy Culture Minister Ilko Ganev, Varna Regional Governor Andriyana Andreeva, and the event’s creative director, Alexander Donev, among others. Ganev read a congratulatory message from caretaker Culture Minister Nayden Todorov, which said that the Golden Rose festival is a great opportunity to showcase the achievements of Bulgarian cinema to the global film community. The festival serves as a platform for cultural exchange, inspiring new collaborations and expanding the horizons of Bulgarian cinema. "The Golden Rose [festival] has always embodied our pursuit of excellence and artistic freedom," the letter read.

The 42nd edition of the Golden Rose Bulgarian Feature Film Festival will continue until September 26. Fifteen feature films, 20 short films and five TV series will compete for the awards of the festival this year. BTA is a media partner of the event.