Interesting Cultural News and Events from Bulgaria - February 2017

Are you visiting Bulgaria soon? There are so many wonderful things to look forward to on your trip, but first, make sure to book a hotel in Bulgaria close to airport. You may want to have a look at Clara Hotel, one of the best hotels in Burgas.

Done that already? Now, let’s quickly tell you about the amazing cultural events and shows that you can look forward to Bulgaria this month.

First, we have some big news for you. You know the Oscars are coming, right? A short film directed by the Bulgarian director Theodore Ushev, called Blind Vaysha, has been nominated for the Oscars.

Blind Vaysha competes with five other movies in the Animated Short Film category. The 89^th Oscar will be held on February 26 at a glittering ceremony in Los Angeles. La La Land, has been nominated for 14 categories and is expected to create some sort of an Oscar record.

People in Bulgaria are eagerly waiting for the event. Blind Vaysha has been produced by the National Film Board of Canada. The film is based on a popular story by Georgi Gospodinov.

The story is a part of the book “And Other Stories” (Writings from an Unbound Europe) which was published in 2001 and has since been translated into English, Italian and German. The music for Blind Vaysha has been composed by the famous Bulgarian musician Kottarashky.

What’s the story? The move is based on the character of young Vaysha, who is blind, but not the way you think. She can look into the past with her left eye and into the future with her right eye. This is an interesting conundrum and makes for a very good film, indeed.

You may want to visit the Prolet Gallery during your trip to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria to see the famous Graphics Exhibition by Veliko Marinchevski. This exhibition features the most illustrious works of art created in the Guanlan graphics style in ancient China.

The graphics have been created using ancient Chinese techniques such as etching and aquatint. Some of the works of art such as the Meeting Under the Tree – Guanlan, Guzhen Night and Half Moon Lake, are very famous in China. You should go and take a look.

Veliko Marinchevski is one of the most talented artists in Bulgaria and he has closely incorporated Chinese artistic techniques into his work. The rhythm, purity of form and the balancing of the shadows are simply outstanding.

His work symbolizes the depth of space, the connection between the eternal, spiritual and the ethereal and harmony in nature. Marinchevski’s art depicts the simple pleasure of living in the present moment and appreciating life for what it is, rather than what it can be.

 While in Bulgaria, you should definitely watch Zoetrope, a short animation film by Sotir and Penko Gelevi that consists of over 10,000 drawings and has been years in the making.

The film depicts the story of two robots, Primus and Decimus and their journey through a labyrinth filled with extraordinary objects. A movie like this has never been made before. You should definitely watch it during your trip to Bulgaria.