Fifth Forum for Sustainable Development of the Bulgarian Film Industry

The UNWE, the Center for Audiovisual Policy and Media Researches and the National Academy of Theater and Film Arts "Krastyo Sarafov" held the Fifth Forum for Sustainable Development of the Bulgarian Film Industry on the Economic Contribution of the Bulgarian Film Industry and the Impact of COVID-19. Partners of the event are the  National Film Center Executive Agency, the Bulgarian National Film Library, the Bulgarian Filmmakers Union, the  Film Producers Association, the Film and TV Directors Association, Filmauthor, the Bulgarian Film Directors Association, the Bulgarian Film Cinematographs Association, Academica 21, the Association of Film, TV and Radio Screenwriters, the Association of Bulgarian Film Producers, the Bulgarian Association of Independent Artists and Animators - Proyko Proykov, the Association of Bulgarian Animation Producers, the Association of Bulgarian Cinemas, the Association of Film and TV Producers and the Observatory on Economics and Culture.

The Forum aims to find the best way for effective and efficient way to manage and finance the Bulgarian film industry - through the prism of European policies and practices which will lead to its sustainable development under the influence of the pandemic.

The event was held online on the MS Teams platform

In the current edition of the Forum Chief Assist. Dr. Diana Andreeva-Popyordanova who is the main organizer of the event, moderator and lecturer at the Media and Public Communications Department, presented new data on the economic contribution of the Bulgarian film industry from a joint study done by Sofia Municipality and the Observatory on Economics of Culture which annually presents data on the economic contribution of the arts, cultural and creative industries, cultural heritage and cultural tourism at national, regional, district level as well as for Sofia Municipality for the period 2008-2020. i was also presented the participation of Sofia in the global cluster of cinema cities as part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network /UCCN/.

Chief Assist. Diana Andreeva

At the opening the Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov greeted all participants and mentioned that considering the Forum all benefits should be taken into account, including network and economic: "It is not accidental that the meeting is held in this format, with the participation of our colleagues from UNWE dealing with economics. Our point of view is differentregarding the resources, benefits and profits. I am glad that there are representatives of Sofia municipality who are our traditional partners as well as of other businesses that can contribute and encourage such activities. It is not money spent on another project but tehr are many related benefits which should be noted". He said that the Forum is a very good initiative for our university and wished success to all participants.

Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov

"I could add that the sustainability of this event is beyond doubt. The fact that the participants are over 35 from various institutions also confirms that. It is important the good ideas from these discussions to become reality and the people responsible for them to hear them. The economic contribution to the film industry is undeniable. The effects of Covid-19 are also undeniable in all the film industries around the world. The hysteria over the pandemic is over and we need to focus on the future of the situation in Bulgaria which is quite different", explained Prof. Dr. Stanislav Semerdzhiev, Rector of NATFA.

Prof. Dr. Stanislav Semerdzhiev

"The current edition of the Forum for sustainable development of the Bulgarian film industry is focused on presenting the long-standing study of the Observatory on Economics and Culture and Sofia Municipality as an economic contribution to the arts, cultural and creative industries, cultural heritage, cultural tourism. The analysis of the economic contribution of the industry, through the measures of classical Economics, value added by factor costs, employees, hired, Foreign Direct Investment, turnover, number and dynamics of organizations involved and implementing projects are indicators that allow to pursues a certain fiscal policy ", said Lubomir Karimansky, Chairman of the Committee on Budget and Finance in the 47th National Assembly and a graduate of UNWE.

Lubomir Karimanski

Ivan Kirilov, representative of the leadership of the Committee on Culture and Media in the 47th National Assembly and a graduate of UNWE, said that the presentation of a study on the economic contribution of art, cultural and creative industries in the film industry and the impact of COVID -19 is extremely important for creating and changing the regulatory framework. "The unification of the academic community in the face of UNWE and NATFA, civil and creative organizations as well as institutions that have to do with industry, presents a new model for building relationships and dialogue and sets the foundation for maintaining policy and governance“.

Ivan Kirilov

Biliana Genova, Director of the Culture Directorate in the Sofia Municipality, greeted the participants in the fifth edition of the Forum on behalf of the Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova: "This Forum is part of the UNESCO Programme entitled Sofia - Creative Cinema City. The data for the research which is the objective of the Forum are from the last 13 years and some of them concern Sofia Municipality. This study highlights Sofia as a national center of cultural and creative industries.

Biliana Genova

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Biliana Tomova, Director of the UNWE Center for Audiovisual Policy and Media Research and lecturer at the  UNWE Media and Public Communications Department, greeted the participants and mentioned that it is a double holiday for her - her birthday and the implementation of the fifth Forum: “It is wonderful to see so many friends, althogh virtually, to celebrate my holiday through this event. We are looking for sustainability and I think we find it in the professional union which thus gives an exceptional added value. In addition, we see the unification of culture and economy in the face of the two strongest universities in this direction. We do all this with the hope and faith to find an enlightened management based on knowledge and upgrading".

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Biliana Tomova

"I hope we will be inspired by this Forum and more and more participants will follow us. They are from many different communities of our guild. The most important thing here is to make a step forward with a careful and thorough analysis of the situation and find the most accurate way", said Prof. Dr. Lyubomir Halachev from the NATFA Film and TV Cinematography and Photography Department and co-organizer of the Forum.

Prof. Dr. Lubomir Halachev

"Everyone is concerned how we implement the state policy in the film industry. The Film Center as an executive agency of the Ministry of Culture has attracted the attention of the entire film community. As someone who has tried to implement the new rules in the last 6-7 months I want to tell you that it is not easy. When we make changes in the legal framework, we have to think for years ahead", said Kamen Balkansky, Director of the National Film Center.

Kamen Balkanski

Antonia Kovacheva, Director of the Bulgarian National Film Archive, joined the greetings at the opening of the Forum and expressed her thankfulness for the invitation. "I believe that the problems of the Bulgarian film industry as well as the audiovisual heritage are extremely important and interconnected. Solving the problems of financing the film industry will also affect the principles and ways of preserving the heritage".

Antonia Kovacheva

The Forum continued with presentation of the economic contribution of the film industry in Sofia and Bulgaria, analysis of the impact of Covid pandemic on cinema as well as with presentation of the progress on the project CICERONE  /Horizon 2020/ in the Bulgarian film industry and global production network. It was also discussed Sofia as a Creative Cinema City of UNESCO under the influence of Covid-19. In the Forum took part representatives of the academic community, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Finance, Committee on Culture and Media in the 47th National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, Sofia Municipality, Bulgarian National Television, civil and creative organizations in the film industry, representatives of media.

During the performances