Catalogue and exhibition about female directors in Bulgarian documentary cinema

The exhibition "Women Directors in Bulgarian Documentary Cinema in the 20th Century" continues at the Regional History Museum in Sofia until March 6, 2026. It presents portraits of emblematic Bulgarian artists, among whom are the names of Adela Peeva, Binka Zhelyazkova, Boryana Puncheva, Iglika Trifonova, Mariana Evstatieva - Biolcheva, Maya Vaptsarova and others. The content is enriched with unique footage from the filming process of works from their filmography.

A catalogue with the same title contributes to and complements our knowledge of the work of these ladies, who managed to leave a bright mark in Bulgarian cinema.

"Our idea was to talk about the lesser-known faces of Bulgarian documentary cinema, as we definitely think that these are the women, because we talk about the female directors who worked until the end of the 20th century. In those times, it was much easier for the men, whose names are also the most famous in the history of Bulgarian cinema,” says Elitsa Gotseva from the Institute of Art Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. She is part of the all-female team that realised the project. “We wanted to show that women also had films that were very good, but over time, information about them disappeared. We wanted to bring back the memory of these individuals who had the courage to create."

Today the situation is completely different and anyone who wants to has the freedom and opportunity to film everything using even their phone:

"This was not possible in the 90s of the past century and at the beginning of the new century. Everyone depended on having access to a camera and a crew, which meant complying with a complex system that few people were allowed to access. From this point of view, today it is much easier for everyone to express themselves, given that there are programs for subsidizing young directors, screenwriters, actors, etc."

Obtaining the necessary information was a challenge, adds Gergana Doncheva from the Institute of Balkan Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences:

"We relied mostly on archival materials, especially from the Bulgarian National Film Archive. A lot of effort was put into searching for the heirs of some of the directors. It turned out that these ladies do not have many preserved photos, as it was important for us to find footage from the filming process. Although this was the most difficult thing, it turned out that we collected quite a bit, because there were people, especially the cameramen, who took photos during the filming process."

Even today, there are not many ladies sitting in the director's chair, but examples like these can serve as an inspiration for those of them who have not yet shown their full potential.