After two successful editions of the Huawei Smartphone Film Festival, the organizers of the CineLibri International Book-to-Film Festival, together with HUAWEI and with the media support of ArtAkcia, announced the start of application session for this year’s third edition! Now everyone has the chance to shoot their own short film thanks to the excellent flagship with great photography capabilities – Huawei P50 Pro. The award winners will be able to watch their works within a special free ceremony with premiere screenings of the best films.

During the first stage, from March 25 to April 20, everyone can send their idea for a short film in the form of treatment. Five finalists selected by the jury of the festival will have chance to turn their ideas into real cinema by means of Huawei P50 Pro. Traditionally, the members of the jury also act as mentors of the finalists throughout the process. This year, once again, jury members are proven professionals in screenwriting, directing, cinematography, editing and acting: Teodora Duhovnikova, Ilian Dzhevelekov, Nina Altaparmakova, Nelly Dimitrova and Kaloyan Bozhilov. The finalists will be placed in a real professional environment. They will have the opportunity to ask questions, discuss and exchange ideas with mentors during all stages of filmmaking, as well as receive timely feedback at any time during the production.

Anyone who is interested and motivated to develop in the field of cinema and wants to become part of the Huawei Smartphone Film Festival 2022, can apply by filling out the registration form and attaching treatment (up to 2 pages, 12pt, Arial) for a short film on the specially created website huaweifilmfest.atrakcia.bg until April 20, 2022 inclusive. On April 28, the jury will select and announce the names of the five participants who will embark on the adventure of making a movie with the Huawei P50 Pro and with the mentorship and guidance of the jury and the festival team.

IMPORTANT! Completed films must be 4 to 10 minutes long and should be sent to huaweifilmfest@cinelibri.com  no later than June 3, 2022.

The finalists and winners will be selected by a jury of the following members:

Kaloyan Bozhilov, cameraman
Kaloyan Bozhilov is a Bulgarian film and television cameraman, born in February 1984 in Sofia. He graduated from NATFA “Krastyo Sarafov” in 2010. He won the award for best cameraman at the Golden Rose IFF in Varna for the film “Alienation” in 2014 and for the film ÀGA in 2018. He was awarded the “Golden Arch” at the East & West International Film Festival for the film ÀGA in 2019. He took part in the international jury of the 40th edition of the festival “Manaki Brothers”. Bozhilov is the cinematographer of the films “Sacred Light”, directed by Georgi Tenev, “Alienation”, directed by Milko Lazarov,  ÀGA  directed by Milko Lazarov, “Raya of Dante”, directed by Dimitar Radev, and the series “Blue Birds Island”, directed by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, “The Way of Honor” season 2, directed by Viktor Bozhinov, “The Lies in Us”, directed by Petar Valchanov.

Nelly Dimitrova, screenwriter
Nelly Dimitrova graduated in “Drama Studies” in 1998 from the National Academy of Theater and Film Arts “Krastyo Sarafov” and immediately began teaching film and television drama. Nelly works as a freelance screenwriter, and her most famous professional achievements are related to the feature films “Petya of My Petya” (2022), “The Naked Truth about Zhiguli Group” (2021), “Heights” (2017), adaptation of Milen Ruskov’s novel of the same name, and LOVE.NET (2011). She is also the main screenwriter of the sitcom “House Arrest” (2011-2014), as well as co-writer of the series “Hotel Bulgaria” (2004), “Relationships” (2015-2016) and “The Portal” (2021). Nelly Dimitrova is a member of the board of BAFTRS (Bulgarian Association of Film, Television and Radio Screenwriters).

Ilian Dzhevelekov, director
Ilian Dzhevelekov is a Bulgarian director, screenwriter and producer. He studied psychology at Sofia University. He graduated in “Film and Television Directing” at the National Academy of Theater and Film Arts “Krastyo Sarafov” in the class of Acad. Lyudmil Staykov. During his studies Dzhevelekov worked as a director in the student program KU-KU. In 1993, Ilian Dzhevelekov’s film “I Want to Be Free” won the award for best short film at the Golden Rose IFF in Varna. He also directed the films LOVE.NET (2011), “Cuba is Music” (2009) and “Omnipresent” (2017), which is the Bulgarian proposal for the “Oscar” in 2019. He is the director of the TV series “The Portal”.

Teodora Duhovnikova, actress
Teodora Duhovnikova graduated from the National Academy of Theater and Film Arts with a degree in “Acting for Drama Theater” in the class of Prof. Snezhina Tankovska. She is an actress from the troupe of the National Theater “Ivan Vazov”, where she plays in many performances of some of our most famous directors. Duhovnikova also participates in many films and TV series. She is the Bulgarian voice of the narrator in Theodore Ushev’s short film “The Blind Vaysha”, winner of a number of film and theater awards, including “Icarus”, “Askeer” and “Golden Rose” for best female role in the film “Omnipresent” “directed by Ilian Dzhevelekov.

Nina Altaparmakova, director of editing
Nina Altaparmakova graduated in “Directing of Editing” at the National Academy of Theater and Film Arts “Krastyo Sarafov” in 1995. In 2010 she won the award for editing of the Bulgarian Film Academy for the film “The Town of Badante Women”, directed by Stefan Komandarev. She has directed the editing of over 100 feature and documentary films, many of which have won awards, such as “The World is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner” and “Directions” directed by Stefan Komandarev, “While Aya was Sleeping” directed by Tsvetodar Markov, “Omelette” and “Irina” directed by Nadezhda Koseva, “Bad Girl” directed by Marian Valev, “18% Gray” directed by Viktor Chuchkov, “Heights” and “The Naked Truth about Zhiguli Group” directed by Viktor Bozhinov. She has been director of the editing of TV series “Undercover” and “Relationships” since 1999. She teaches directing of editing at NATFA “Krastyo Sarafov”.

AWARDS

The most valuable reward for all finalists is the work with the members of the jury, with whom they will experience the emotions of the creative process and will gain valuable knowledge – both in terms of technical performance and overall approach and organization to create a finished product. After the filming period, the jury will select the winners of the first, second and third prizes, respectively, who will be able to watch their works at an official ceremony with premiere screenings of the films. The event will be accessible for anyone who wish to share this celebration of young talents. Additional awards from CineLibri and Huawei will be presented during the ceremony.

The great winner will receive: a Huawei P50 Pro device, an honorary statuette, a diploma, active communication in the online channels of CineLibri, ArtAkcia and Huawei, as well as books from Colibri Publishers.

The second and third place winners will receive: Huawei P50 Pro device, diplomas, communication in the mentioned online channels, books from Colibri Publishers.

All finalists who have submitted completed short films shot with the Huawei P50 Pro will also receive books from Colibri Publishers!

More information about the third edition of the Huawei Smartphone Film Festival can be found on a specially created page: huaweifilmfest.atrakcia.bg, which specifies in detail the terms and conditions for participation and evaluation criteria. Take advantage of the instructions for writing treatment, pay attention to all the inspiring films of the winners of the previous two editions! The page will be constantly updated with new materials, articles, news about the development of the initiative and other publications that will make Huawei Smartphone Film Festival 2022 an exciting experience not only for direct participants but also for all potential viewers, movie lovers, creators, fans of Huawei, CineLibri, ArtAkcia and of all meaningful projects implemented in Bulgaria.