STRANDZHA

Bulgaria
| 2025
| 95 min.
| Documentary

Script: Pepa Hristova
Director: Pepa Hristova
Cinematography: Daniel Svilenov
Composer: Nika Son
Production: Fünferfilm (Germany), AGITPROP (Bulgaria) – Julia Cöllen, Karsten Krause, Frank Scheuffele, Martichka Bozhilova
Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, Film Fund Hamburg, Eurimages, Canon Germany, Robert Bosch Foundation, Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, Poda Nature Reserve
 Contact: [email protected], +359 2 983 1411

Set in one of Europe’s last primeval forests on the border between Bulgaria and Turkey, the film blends documentary observation with poetic imagery. Ancient myths, migration paths and ritualistic practices shape a landscape inhabited by fire dancers, former soldiers, children in abandoned barracks and women marked by trauma.

Festival Selections & Awards

International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2025 – Official Selection

Sofia Documental, 2025.

PEPA HRISTOVA is an internationally recognized photographer known for her independent projects and exhibitions. She was a member of Berlin’s renowned OSTKREUZ agency (2006–2016). Her works have been exhibited in Deichtorhallen, C/O Berlin, the National Gallery Sofia, NRW Forum Düsseldorf and BOZAR Brussels. Strandzha is her debut documentary.