Bulgaria selects The Dreamed Adventure as its 2027 Oscar entry

The Dreamed Adventure, by German director Valeska Grisebach, is Bulgaria’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards, the Bulgarian National Film Center announced.

The film was selected by a committee chaired by Mira Staleva, managing director of the Sofia International Film Festival, and including film critic Savina Petkova, actor Julian Kostov, director Pavel Vesnakov and producer Kalin Kalinov.

Grisebach’s film is an international co-production between Germany, France, Bulgaria and Austria, featuring non-professional actors. The director spent years researching the project and casting its leads, and also learned Bulgarian for the production, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It is her second feature shot in Bulgaria, following Western (2017), and premiered in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival this year, where it won the Jury Prize.

Since Cannes, The Dreamed Adventure has been selected for a number of international festivals, including Toronto, Sydney, New York, London, Sarajevo and Vancouver.

Set in the Bulgarian border town of Svilengrad, the film follows archaeologist Veska, who unexpectedly crosses paths with Said, an old acquaintance whose car has been stolen. Her attempt to help him draws her into a web of hidden criminal connections and gradually exposes a darker side of the town. As figures from her own past reappear, Veska is forced to confront the truth both about the place where she lives and about her own experiences.

Editor: Ivo Ivanov

English editor: E. Radkova