Bulgaria Picks Cannes Winner for Oscar Race — SkimNews
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- Bulgaria selected Valeska Grisebach's 'The Dreamed Adventure' for the 2027 Oscar Best International Feature Film race, with the decision made by a five-member committee led by chairman Mira Staleva that included 'White Lotus' actor Julian Kostov.
- 'The Dreamed Adventure' won the Jury Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival; the film is set in Svilengrad near the Bulgaria-Turkey-Greece border and follows archaeologist Veska (Yana Radeva) drawn into organized crime.
- The film is a co-production of Germany, France, Bulgaria, and Austria, shot entirely in Bulgaria with nonprofessional actors and Bulgarian dialogue, per the Bulgarian National Film Center.
- Grisebach spent five years researching the region to make her sophomore feature, following her 2017 debut 'Western.'
- Janus Films holds U.S. rights; the film screens at TIFF's Centerpiece lineup tonight and later at the New York Film Festival.
- 'The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner' remains Bulgaria's only Oscar shortlist appearance (2009); the country has never reached the nomination stage in the category.
- The 2027 Oscar calendar sets the shortlist reveal for December 15, nominations on January 21, and the 98th Oscars ceremony on March 14, 2027 at the Dolby Theater.
Why it matters: For Bulgaria — whose only shortlist appearance came in 2009 — this Cannes Jury Prize winner is the country's most decorated Oscar entry in years, with the December 15 shortlist and January 21 nominations as the next milestones. Janus Films holds U.S. rights and the film continues its festival run at TIFF and NYFF.
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