Ministry of Culture (Bulgaria)
The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria is the ministry charged with overseeing and stimulating the cultural work in the country and preserving its cultural heritage.
History
The Ministry of Culture was established as a separate institution on 6 February 1954, previously being part of the Ministry of Enlightenment. It was then active under various names until promoted back to a ministry in 1990, but once again briefly united with the Ministry of Education and Science in 1993.Ministers
Marian Bachev was appointed as Minister for Culture in 2025.Agencies
Bulgarian National Film Center
The Bulgarian National Film Center is an executive agency under the Minister of Culture that helps to fund filmmaking and related activities. It is supported partly by the government's budget and partly by revenues from its own activities. Its functions include the support and/or organisation of the following:- creation, distribution, and showing of Bulgarian films both nationally and internationally
- film festivals of Bulgarian and foreign films at home and showing of Bulgarian films abroad
- training and qualification of film industry workers
- activity of Creative Europe Media-Bulgaria
- cooperation with similar organisations in other countries and various programs of the Council of Europe and the European Union
- protection of copyright and related rights in the film industry
- legislation relating to the film industry
- data collection and dissemination to the public relating to the Bulgarian film industry
- production rights
Since 2005, the BNFC has represented Bulgaria in the European Film Promotion organisation. It also works in cooperation with public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television, the Bulgarian National Film Archive, the Union of Bulgarian Filmmakers and other organisations in the field of audiovisual in the production, distribution and preservation of Bulgarian films
The NFC is located at 2A Dondukov Blvd in Sofia.
Academy Award selections
Bulgarian entries for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film have been submitted since 1970. Until 2007, they were selected by the Bulgarian National Council on Cinema, and from 2007, by the Bulgarian National Film Council. The body was referred to as Bulgarian National Cinema Council in 2019, when it was presided over by producer Vladimir Andreev, and selected Ága as the Bulgarian entry.In 2024, the film Triumph was selected as the Bulgarian entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, by a unanimous decision of a five-member selection committee appointed by the BNFC.