Film about Sylvie Vartan’s path from Bulgaria to world fame opens DOCK Festival

The film Sylvie Vartan: For Love will open the International Festival of Historical Documentary Cinema DOCK, taking place in Bulgaria's Burgas from September 17 to 22. The film is directed by Emma Konstantinova, with Georgi Toshev as screenwriter and producer. The journalist will personally present the film to audiences in Burgas.

The film chronicles the extraordinary journey of a girl from the Bulgarian village of Iskrets to the world’s greatest stages. It is a story of success and doubt, love and separation, emigration and a return to one’s homeland.

Through Sylvie Vartan’s personal story, the film also offers a unique portrait of Bulgaria over the past 80 years, tracing changes in political systems, historical traumas and the enduring memory of home. The film was shot over a period of 16 years.

The competition programme of DOCK 2026 will feature films about figures including Tsar Ferdinand I, Romain Gary, Caravaggio, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Adolf Hitler and Adolf Eichmann, alongside documentary accounts of Stalin, Gaddafi, Sarkozy and other personalities and events that have shaped contemporary history.

Edited by Miglena Ivanova