Festival
MAGDALENA RALCHEVA
DEAR FRIENDS OF CINEMA,
We are on the threshold of the 13th edition of the “Golden Linden” International Film Festival for New European Cinema – a forum that over the years has become one of the most anticipated and cherished cultural events in Bulgaria. For thirteen years now, Stara Zagora has been more than just its home; it has become a true haven for European cinema – a city of spirit and atmosphere, where history and the present day join hands under the banner of art.
The “Golden Linden” is, above all, the fruit of the dedication, restless energy, and profound love for cinema of everyone with whom we collectively preserve and develop this forum. Together, under the lime trees of Stara Zagora, we transform it into a celebration for viewers, creators, and guests alike. Our efforts have always been focused on building upon our achievements, expanding the horizons of our audience, and presenting the latest, most exciting, and meaningful films from across the Old Continent.
In today’s increasingly digital world, where technology often distances us from one another, the “Golden Linden” continues to bring us together in the darkened theater – before the magic of the big screen, where the shared experience holds a special power. We succeed because, alongside our mission to decentralize culture, we have stood by a bold and unconventional decision since the very beginning: completely free admission to all screenings.
This “investment in the spirit” pays off a hundredfold every year – through the packed halls and a loyal audience that knows the most precious things in life – inspiration, empathy, and our shared humanity – are, in fact, beyond price.
This year, we offer you a rich and diverse program of 50 films from 18 European countries, inspiring encounters with prominent filmmakers, special events, and various fringe activities that will turn these festival days into a true celebration of cinema and culture. I believe that every viewer will discover their own film, their own story, and their own unforgettable moment in the spotlight.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Municipality of Stara Zagora and personally to the Mayor, Mr. Zhivko Todorov, for their hospitality, trust, and consistent partnership. My thanks also go to all cultural institutions, centers, embassies, sponsors, supporters, and friends of the festival, whose contribution makes this significant cultural event possible.
Dear friends, let us once again immerse ourselves in the magic of cinema. May these festival days be a feast for the senses, a meeting of ideas, a triumph of the spirit, and proof that art has the power to unite us, to inspire us, and to make us better!
We look forward to welcoming you to Stara Zagora amidst the scent of the lime trees, where the light of the big screen will once again remind us that cinema is one of the most beautiful ways to understand ourselves, others, and the world.
Magdalena Ralcheva
Director of “The Golden Linden” International Film Festival
ZHIVKO TODOROV
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished guests, creators, and friends of cinema,
Over the years, “The Golden Linden” international film festival has established itself as a space where cultures, ideas, and human stories meet, told through the universal language of cinema. Stara Zagora is a hospitable host for this event—a city of poets where words are lived, every street whispers verses, and every heart carries inspiration.
In 2025, we celebrated the 110th anniversary of Bulgarian cinema—a journey defined by talent and dedication. This is an occasion for both pride and reflection on the power of film to preserve our memory and shape our future.
It is heartening to see that in recent years, Bulgarian cinematic art has increasingly asserted its presence on the international stage, finding its rightful place in the dialogue of European culture.
“The Golden Linden” film festival is a vital part of this process. It does more than just screen films—it fosters meaningful encounters between creators and the audience, between different cultures, and between diverse ideas.
Cinema teaches us how to look—not only at the screen but at one another; to see beyond our differences and to discover the human element in the unknown. Perhaps this is precisely its greatest power.
Stara Zagora is proud to be the home of this festival. I would like to thank the organizers for their devotion and everyone who stands behind this event. Thanks to you, “The Golden Linden” continues to grow and affirm its place on the international cultural map.
I wish great success to the cinematic magic of ” The Golden Linden” 2026!
ZHIVKO TODOROV
Mayor of Stara Zagora Municipality
STARA ZAGORA
Stara Zagora is located in the central part of Bulgaria. With its 160,500 inhabitants, the city is among the largest in the country. They call it the City of the linden trees and the straight streets, of poets and artists, city – a phoenix which has risen from the ashes to take the path of its future.
Stara Zagora is a fast growing city, university center, with many science and cultural institutions, with a rich historical past and cultural heritage, with a history of eight millennium. City called by many names, each one bears the mark of a different era and an evidence of its antiquity and importance. In the beginning of the II century Marcus Ulpius Traianus built the ancient Augusta Traiana. Then the names of the city in the Middle Ages were – Beroe, Vereya, Irinopolis, Boruy, during the Ottoman rule – Eski Zagra and Bulgarian Zheleznik in the middle of the XIX century changed later to Stara Zagora. The history of the city and the region can be traced through the rich archives of the Regional Historical Museum, the Museum “Neolithic dwellings” that presents the best preserved dwellings in Europe from the 6<sup>th</sup> millennium BC, the old copper mines found so far in Europe (end of 5<sup>th</sup> millennium BC), the Roman Forum of Augusta Traiana, Memorial Complex “Defenders of Stara Zagora 1877” museum “Geo Milev”, Art Gallery, Museum of religions.
The cultural life of Stara Zagora has long traditions. The first provincial opera house has given the world the voices of Christina Morfova, Anna Tomova-Sintow, Sarah Mineva and presently one of the most famous and diverse opera singers of our time – Vesselina Katsarova. For many decades the performances of Drama and Puppet Theatre are real feasts not only for the local residents but also for tourists. The first provincial radio emission starts in Stara Zagora. The galleries, museums, libraries and theaters are centers of rich and intense cultural life, true spiritual centers, preserving the memory of time.
The great wealth of Stara Zagora are the “green” streets, extensive parks and gardens. H. B. Bishop Methodius Kusev initiated in 1885 the creation of the largest city park – “Ayazmoto Park” and over the years it has become one of the most famous and beautiful emblems of Stara Zagora.
Close to Stara Zagora, at the foot of the mountain of Sredna Gora is the famous resort Stara Zagora mineral baths. Its healing springs were used by the Thracians and Romans, evidence of which are the open baths built by them. Nearby is “The Holy Mother Step” – a natural phenomenon, visited all year round by many tourists and pilgrims.
