18/09/2008

Stefan Kitanov is the founding president of the most important annual film event in Bulgaria, the Sofia International Film Festival. After graduating in Economics and Film Criticism in his native Sofia, in 1992 he became the manager of Cinema House, Bulgaria’s foremost arthouse cinema. In 2001 he founded ART FEST Ltd., the company behind Sofia IFF’s eight editions to date. The same company would become one of the key European film distributors in Bulgaria in the years to come, which is precisely why Kitanov is representing his country at San Sebastian’s European Distributors Up Next! training program.

Cineuropa: What is your background in film distribution?
Stefan Kitanov: I started in 2003 with three films, which where later promoted at the Sofia International Film Festival [IFF]. As director of that festival I needed particular films and realized that sometimes it’s better to be involved with them 12 months a year instead of only during the festival period.

When was your company founded?
Our company was founded in 2001, the same year that the Sofia IFF got underway.

What is your company profile?
ART FEST Ltd. has a broad profile, involving three components: production, distribution and exhibition.

What is your target audience within the Bulgarian film market?
We would like to attract people who love European cinema.

What is the latest European feature that you distributed and what are your plans for the next few months in terms of European premieres?
Fatih Akin’s The Edge of Heaven [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fatih Akin
interview: Klaus Maeck
film profile] was our latest feature premiere. Next releases include The Palermo Shooting [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Wim Wenders and Delta [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kornél Mundruczó
interview: Orsi Tóth
film profile] by Kornel Mundruczo. This will be after the next Sofia IFF in March 2009.

What is the biggest box office hit that your company has distributed?
Francois Ozon’s Swimming Pool [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Crossing the Bridge [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Fatih Akin both entertained audiences between 8,000 and 10,000 spectators.

How profitable can film distribution get in Bulgaria?
My type of distribution is still not profitable. But I hope that we will find a way for the films we release to get to cinemas more often, and if this is difficult we will create cinemas in places where there are no theatres, in order to have public video screenings. I’m working on that.

What are the three biggest problems facing a Bulgarian distributor of European films?
Festival audiences like European films. The general audience likes Hollywood films. Festival audiences don’t go to regular cinemas. The general audience goes to regular cinemas. European films don’t go regularly to mainstream cinemas. Guess why.

What do you expect to learn in San Sebastian? What are your thoughts on this training programme?
I think that in my country we need to create events around the distribution of European films so that they be seen. My idea is to have a traveling package with which to visit different towns, whether it is with 35mm or video screenings. There are less than 30 towns in Bulgaria with cinemas. We have to find a way to keep audience interest in public film screenings. For some films we might get theatrical rights for a relatively short term and for a low fee. We need to try that and if the others (especially world sales agents) think it might work.