The sixth edition of the International Book & Movie Festival CineLibri was held in Sofia and another seven Bulgarian cities between October 18th and November 8th 2020 under the motto “Sentimental Education” as a tribute to one of the most influential French writers of the XIX century – Gustave Flaubert. In addition to the Bulgarian capital Sofia, the film events took place in: Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo, Gabrovo, Stara Zagora and Blagoevgrad. The spectators watched 45 feature films, traditionally divided into several sections.
Due to the complicated situation as a result of the incidence of the coronavirus disease all over the world, including Bulgaria, the festival was held both in the cinema halls and online. CineLibri 2020 adapted a significant part of its program for parallel broadcasting online through the platform Neterra TV +. The grand opening ceremony was on October 18 in Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. It started with a spectacular musical performance to be followed by a premiere screening of the eccentric crime comedy The Godmother (Mama Weed) directed by Jean-Paul Salome, featuring the icon of French cinema Isabelle Huppert.
The competition program presented a powerful selection of 7 titles. The esteemed Jury this year consisted of: the Finnish film producer and director Mika Kaurismäki, the Argentine writer and screenwriter Santiago Amigorena, the Greek director Babis Makridis, the Bulgarian actress Snezhina Petrova and the acclaimed Bulgarian director Milko Lazarov. The legendary director Jean-Jacques Annaud was the honorable chairman of the Jury. World-renowned for his works and film challenges, Annaud is one of the few European directors with an international career of more than five decades. Most of his movie achievements were based on emblematic novels, including The Name of the Rose, The Lover, Wolf Totem.
Among the competition films were: the impatiently awaited movie interpretation of the popular play The Father (2020) directed by the playwright himself – Florian Zeller, featuring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman; Summer of 85 (2020) directed by the provocative French director François Ozon; the psychological family drama The Ties (2020) directed by Daniele Luchetti; the ambitious co-production Berlin Alexanderplatz (2020), a modern adaptation of one of the greatest twentieth-century novels, directed by Burhan Qurbani; the Hungarian drama Pilatus (2019) directed by Linda Dombrovszky.
The festival marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Jose Saramago with a premiere screening of the film The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis directed by João Botelho and based on the eponymous novel. An evening in memoriam of Jirí Menzel was held too, as he was not just a brilliant director and ingenious movie storyteller, but also a friend of Bulgaria and CineLibri in particular. The parallel film program offered versatile literary adaptations such as the film Pinocchio (2019) directed by Matteo Garrone, a live-action adaptation of the classic story of a wooden puppet; Here Are the Young Men (2020) directed by Eoin Macken and based on the novel of the same name by Rob Doyle; the captivating dramatic thriller The Last Vermeer (2019) set just after WWII, starring Claes Bang and Guy Pearce; the intriguing adaptation Narziss and Goldmund (2020) directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky and based on the splendid philosophical novel by Hermann Hesse.
CineLibri 2020 celebrated the 250th anniversary of the birth of the genius German composer Ludwig van Beethoven and the 80th anniversary of the birth of the eternal “Beatle” and dreamer John Lennon. In strict compliance with the governmental Covid-19 restrictions, several digital meetings were held with representatives of the film teams during the festival, including video connection with the young actor Benjamin Voisin who perform one of the leading roles in Summer of 85 directed by François Ozon, and video connection with György Somogyi, the screenwriter of Pilatus, based on the Magda Szabo’s novel.
This year’s CineLibri films were divided into several modules, united by the slogan “Sentimental Education”. The section of films competing for the Grand Prize for Literary Adaptation was entitled “If Everyone Thought the Same, There Would Be No Competition” The other modules were titled in view of the genre specifics of the films: “The Arguments of the Heart”, “The Dream of Reason”, “They Who Have No Sense of Humor, Have No Feelings at All”, “Music is a Transcript of Emotions”, “Wisdom Defeats Fate”. The section with documentaries was entitled “When the Facts Speak…”, and the Bulgarian adaptations were collected conditionally under the phrase “Mission: Bulgarian Cinema”. The festival also presented several “Short Temptations” – selected short films based on literary works.
Despite the complicated circumstances, the program contained a series of Gala Evenings, creative webinars and other events bringing together film experts, literary critics and diplomats who represented France, the United States, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Denmark, Portugal and Ireland. The events were supported by the embassies and cultural institutes of the respective countries.
Summer of 85 (France, Belgium 2020) directed by François Ozon. Ozon is undoubtedly a master of elegant provocation and one of the brightest names in French cinema. The director of “Eight Women” and “The Pool” this time opted for an adaptation of Aidan Chambers’ novel Dance on my Grave. “Summer 85” is a skilfully composed youth drama that follows the story of a mature. A scorching, wise, hypnotic tale of love and loss, illuminated by the rising stars Félix Lefebvre and Benjamin Voisin.
The Ties (Italy 2020) directed by Daniele Luchetti. Decadently expressive family drama, which earlier this year opened one of the most prestigious film forums in the world – the Venice Film Festival. It is based on the novel of the same name by Domenico Starnone, known as an impeccable stylist and enchanting narrator, winner of the most respected literary award in Italy – “Strega”. The Ties offers an emotionally charged and insightful account of love, family relationships, and the unknown consequences of some of our actions.
Minamata (USA, UK, United Arab Emirates 2020) directed by Andrew Levitas. War photographer W. Eugene Smith is a master of the so-called photo essay. Some of his most significant photographic essays are related to World War II, to Dr. Albert Schweizer’s clinic in French Equatorial Africa, and to pollution in the Japanese industrial city of Minamata, which is damaging the health of its inhabitants. Smith travels back to Japan where he documents the devastating effect of mercury poisoning in coastal communities.
Berlin Alexanderplatz (Germany, Netherlands, France, Canada 2020) directed by Burhan Qurbani. This ambitious film epic draws on one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century, signed by Alfred Döblin, adapted many times for both the big screen and television, including by the great Rainer Fassbinder. We don’t know if love is the feeling that will awaken in you the unfortunate in history. But for compassion and mercy, there will surely be a place in your hearts. And sentences are handed down only after all “mitigating circumstances” have been taken into account.
The Exception (Denmark 2019) directed by Jesper W. Nielsen. A film that will not disappoint fans of cool, insightful and unpredictable Scandinavian cinema. The story is based on a novel by Christian Jungersen, who makes a relentless dissection of human nature, revealing the mechanism of turning fear and paranoia into witch-hunts. Four women work together at a small NGO in Copenhagen dealing with genocide research. When two of them face with death threats, they suspect a Serbian war criminal; but then they start suspecting and turning against each other.
The Father (United Kingdom 2020) directed by Florian Zeller. Zeller is a world-famous playwright – author of the play of the same name which is an international hit. In the film, the father whose memory is slowly and inexorably melting, is played by the living legend Anthony Hopkins. The other powerful performance belongs to the Oscar winner Olivia Colman. Christopher Hampton authored the screenplay in which a man begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.
Pilátus (Hungary 2019) directed by Linda Dombrovszky. The Hungarian chamber drama Pilátus is inspired by the psychologically penetrating novel of the same name. The mother loves her daughter, the daughter loves her mother, but they can’t meet in their mutual love. Magda Szabó’s novel is a reflection on aging, loss, loneliness and grief, on dysfunctional family relationships that seem “fairly normal” on the outside, but the truth is they are corroded by misunderstanding, blindness and lack of empathy.
