Cinema
In the
village


The history of cinema in Bulgarian villages began over 100 years ago and peaked with 3000 active film theaters in the 1980s. We support Bulgarian villages in reclaiming their place as a space for culture and enable European artists to show their films to broader audiences.

Bringing contemporary cinema to 10 villages in 2025.

  • Cinema in the Village is an annual decentralized festival held across multiple locations in rural Bulgaria. The aim of the festival is to build a network of villages with regular access to contemporary cinema, as well as to empower locals through the creation of training and networking opportunities.

    The pilot edition of the festival took place in Trudovets, Bulgaria from July-September 2024.

    The first edition of Cinema in the Village will be hosted from May-October 2025 across 10 villages and will include a total of 60 film screenings, discussions and workshops.

  • To create the structure enabling easy access to cinema and culture in the village.

    To build community and seed ideas and opportunities.

  • Mission: Making cinema and culture accessible in rural Bulgaria.

    Vision: Community-focused, community-led.

First EDITION

The first edition of "Cinema in the Village" will be held across 10 locations in rural Bulgaria. The program will be announced on 1.4.2025 and will feature 60 screenings between May-October 2025.

Each location will have an individual programme tailored to the demographics and the cultural preferences of the community. All screenings are free of charge and will be hosted in a local community centre. 

🗓️ May-October 2025

🎥 Programme TBA

“Cinema in the Village” 2025 is financially supported by Bulgaria’s National Culture Fund and Lidl Bulgaria.

  • Rural Visionary Award

    European Leadership Academy

  • Funding award

    Bulgarian National Culture Fund

  • Funding award

    Funding awarded

    Lidl Bulgaria CSR

  • KinoBox Interview

    19 JAN: Public presentation

  • Founding team

    19 JAN: Public presentation

  • Audience

    19 JAN: Public presentation

PILOT EDITION

The pilot edition of "Cinema in the Village" was held in the "Center for Happiness and Wellbeing", Trudovets. The programme included three screenings which will took place every second Saturday from July to September 2024.

The main theme of the pilot edition was the diversity of contemporary Bulgarian cinema. Short and feature films, animation, documentary and fiction were presented. 

🗓️ 13 JULY: New Artists in Bulgarian Cinema

🗓️ 10 AUGUST: The Lesson

🗓️ 14 SEPTEMBER: Estorium, Everyone Has a Story

  • Technical test

    Screening room preparation.

  • Dir. Garlic Soup

    Christian Zahariev

    Dir. “Garlic Soup”, animation
    13 JULY: New Artists in Bulgarian Cinema

  • Katya Simeonova

    Katya Simeonova

    Dir. “Mud”, documentary
    13 JULY: New Artists in Bulgarian Cinema

  • Martin Iliev

    Dir. “Perhaps Tomorrow", short film
    13 JULY: New Artists in Bulgarian Cinema

  • Dir. “Perhaps Tomorrow", short film 13 JULY: New Artists in Bulgarian Cinema

    JULY: New Artists

    First Screening.

  • August: The Lesson

    August: The Lesson

    Second screening.

  • September: Estorium

    Third screening.

Our Team


  • Founder and Project Manager

    Petra is a graduate of RWTH Aachen, Germany and holds a BSc in Biotechnology. During 2021-2024, she pursued a career in biotech R&D, focusing on analytical studies of therapeutic antibodies at Alvotech, Iceland. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Natural and Environmental Resources at the University of Iceland, a program with a focus on social innovation, improved quality of life and sustainability in a changing world. She sees "Cinema in the Village" as an opportunity to bring culture and contemporary cinema to rural Bulgaria, which in turn nurtures big dreams for the future of villages.


  • Artistic Director

    Evgenia graduated from NATFA with a degree in Film and Television Direction. She is currently completing her master's thesis in Art Management at NBU. She is the program director and founder of the newly opened arthouse cinema in Sofia - Cinema Weekends. Evgenia is also the content manager at the 7arts platform. She was the artistic director of the project "Cinema in the Rhodopes" (2023), as well as a selector and assistant in the programming department of the International Documentary "Rhodope Film Fest" in Smolyan (2022). Her artistic biography includes two fantasy books co-authored with Vanina Bozhilova.