Sofia Film Fest salutes cinematic aces

Bulgarian director Dragomir Sholev walked away with the Grand Prix at this year's incarnation of the Sofia Film Festival.

Sholev's film, Podslon (Shelter), an exploration of alienated punk youth, charmed punters as well as pundits, scooping the audience award to boot.

Other Sofia success stories included Kar Bayez (White as Snow), by Turkish director Nur Gunes, which won the Special Jury Prize.

Meanwhile, debut director Joao Nuno Pinto from Brazil was hailed as best director for his film America.

Lifetime achievement awards were handed out to such venerable figures as French master Claude Lelouch, Georgian-French director Otar Iosseliani, Bulgarian actor Russi Chanev and Italian actress Claudia Cardinale.

Founded in 1997 as a film music extravaganza, the event has since blossomed into one of Europe's finest festivals of World Cinema.

The event was cited by Variety as one of the top film festivals around the globe, and looks sent to expand its horizons further over the coming years.