National Festival for cinematography “Golden Eye” (May)

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The festival was founded in memory of the famous Bulgarian cameraman Dimo Kolarov (1924-1997), who was born here. It is held every two years during the celebrations of culture in May in the city and dates back to 1998.

The competition program of the festival gives the opportunity of participation of films, documentaries and student films. It is organized by the Municipality Popovo and the Union of Film Makers in Bulgaria, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, the National Film Center, the Association of Bulgarian operators and others.

Some of the winners of the “Golden Eye” prize for cinematography are: Konstantin Zankov with the movie “The Patience of the Stone”, Emil Topuzov with the movie “Dan Koloff”, Hristo Bakalov for “The Devil’s Tail”, Georgi Nikolov for “Journey to Jerusalem”, Plamen Somov for “Stolen Eyes”.

Festival of dance and martial arts (April)

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Within three days, the Festival of dance and martial arts collects and presents under a roof the most popular dances and martial arts in the world. During the festival days 40 dance styles are presented (Latin and folk dance, hip-hop, breakdancing, MTV, ballroom, oriental, modern and unconventional dance) as well as over 20 demonstrations of martial arts and sports (boxing, kick boxing, Judo, MMA, karate, kung-fu, aikido, tai chi, self-defense techniques, etc.).

Three days without rest, there are dances, martial arts, dances and martial arts again, and so on until the audience meets with all 40 dances and 20 martial arts.

Horo is in the Dance

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Horo is in the Dance is the first ever festival of amateur folk groups, created and organized by the National Community Centre “Dimitar Dinev 1937.”

The first edition of the festival in 2007 gathered 21 dancing folk groups. The interest towards the forum is constantly increasing. In recent editions more than 84 dancing groups from across the country with over 2,400 participants are dancing in competition.

Organizers divide the groups small and large depending on the number of participants and award double prize money. The forum aims to preserve and promote the authentic Bulgarian folk dances.

Water Tower Art Festival (June)

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The Water Tower Art Festival timidly started some years ago but has now become an important urban tradition. It always smells of magic, and shoots directly into the Wonderland for nonchalant fellows … in regard to reality.

In June, 2012, for the fifth consecutive year, the international art festival “Water Tower” presented selected works of artists in the field of contemporary art. In the days between the 24th and 30th June, 2012, installations and works of 150 artists from all over Europe, China, Israel, USA, exploring themes of quality of life in the urban environment, ecology, art, informal communication, socially engaged art were presented.

This year, the Municipal Council adopted the “Water Tower” Arts Festival to become part of the Cultural events calendar of the municipality.

DA Fest (September each year)

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DA Fest is a festival organized by the National Art Academy in Sofia. It makes possible the meeting of the Bulgarian public with new trends and important developments in the field of digital art – digital video, interactive performance and installation art, sound art and all other manifestations of visual art .

RETRO SOFIA FEST (September each year)

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RETRO SOFIA FEST – Guide to Forgotten Sofia is a multi-genre interactive cultural festival using the magic of the words, photography, graphic arts, dance, fashion design, production design and cinematography to dive us, present living people, in the romantic atmosphere of the forgotten era and also give us a chance to make the connection between time and discover mechanisms of eternal life, which will allow us to move forward boldly.

SOFIA DANCE WEEK (26 September – 02 October)

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Sofia Dance Week is an international festival for contemporary dance – an infinitely amazing art that brings elements of theater, dance, music, circus, cinema, digital technology and everything coming from human body and mind.

Every autumn Sofia Dance Week presents one of the most inspiring and modern dance performances from the world scene. Critics often call them spectacular, conceptual, delicate, drama, experimental … For the organizers of Sofia Dance Week, they are just an emotion – pure and mind-breaking.

Аrt Fest (20 – 21 August)

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The Art Fest is a truly extraordinary festival where a bunch of young writers willingly reveal the secrets of art …

There one could enjoy rag horses, animation of plasticine, figures from the polymer resin. Visitor could also see some drawings on the sand, earrings from cinnamon, roses from pulled… sugar. There are also paper cranes, blankets of pieces of cloth, funny handmade cards. Huge interest could be raised from the wool bars of soap, all the paper quirks, and knitted flowers. And a whole bunch of other exciting surprises …

Sofia Design Week (1 – 8 June)

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Sofia Design Week 1 – 8 June is an international design and visual culture. It is held each year in June in Sofia. Its program includes a professional forum with distinguished names from all around the world and events with free access to the public – exhibitions, workshops, discussions, lectures, children’s program, movies, books, parties.

Sofia Design Week aims to serve as a platform that encourages and supports the development of design professionals in Bulgaria. However, the purpose of the event is to present and promote sustainable and valuable practices for better and meaningful visual environments around the world.