ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Film about the life of spiritual teacher Vaklush Tolev wins Cannes award

Director Nikolay Vasilev with the Golden Firefly award.
Photo: Personal archive

The documentary film "Vaklush", directed by Nikolay Vasilev, has been awarded the "Golden Firefly" statuette in the "Best Social Justice Feature Film" category at the Cannes World Film Festival "Remember the Future". The film was shot between 1998 and 2022 and shows unseen archive footage from the life of the famous spiritual teacher Vaklush Tolev. The film features music by kaval player Teodosii Spasov.

Director Nikolay Vasilev tells bTV Radio about Vaklush Tolev:

 "His life is absolutely narratively powerful. At the age of 21 he was imprisoned in a political prison after being recalled from the front as a Tsarist officer. He spent 12 years in communist camps, including Belene. 

He was released from prison after an amnesty, but was still under surveillance by the State Security. Being an "enemy of the people", he could not continue his law studies, but with many vicissitudes, he graduated in theology in a year and a half. "He then taught at the Universities of Plovdiv and Sofia, lecturing on the history of religions, esoteric schools and mystical teachings. 

On his 28th birthday, while in prison, he had a spiritual awakening. Not just the catharsis that art can bring, but the awakening of what he calls the God within. In other words, each of us has a dormant superpower, and the life we have had to live and the circumstances have charged it up and awakened that very superpower," says Vasilev.


The aim of the Remember the Future festival is to discover a new generation of talented filmmakers and give them more global exposure, the director told BTA.

"Vaklush" has already been selected for 24 documentary film festivals around the world and has won 10 awards so far, including four from India. It has also won statuettes in America, Sweden and France. It won the Best Screenplay award at the Switzerland Film Fest & Screenplay Competition, reports BTA.

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.
Radio Bulgaria Culture    award cannes documentary nikolay vasilev spiritual teacher vaklush vaklush tolev

More from category

Opera star Joyce DiDonato has commissioned a Bulgarian designer for her Emily Dickinson project

The Kansas-born mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who has won multiple Grammy Awards and received the 2018 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera, has commissioned Bulgarian designer Veselina Svilarska to create costumes for her latest..

published on 8/15/25 3:03 PM

Tarika has been chosen as Bulgaria's Oscar contender

Bulgaria has selected Tarika as its official entry in the Best International Feature Film category for next year's Academy Awards. Directed by Milko Lazarov, the film is his third feature and premiered at the 68th BFI London Film Festival. It went..

published on 8/15/25 2:14 PM

40+ Bulgarian publishers will attend the With a Book on the Beach festival in Burgas

With more than 40 publishers and over 30 meet-the-author events set to take place, the 2025 With a Book on the Beach festival in Burgas promises to be an exciting event. It will be held from 13 to 17 August .  According to BNR Burgas, the festival..

published on 8/13/25 6:15 AM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Min: 18 | Max: 32
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 18 | Max: 27
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 19 | Max: 27
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Min: 18 | Max: 29
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Min: 18 | Max: 30
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Min: 20 | Max: 33
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 17 | Max: 30
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 14 | Max: 28
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 17 | Max: 32
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Min: 16 | Max: 30
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Min: 19 | Max: 32
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Min: 20 | Max: 29
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Min: 16 | Max: 30
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Min: 15 | Max: 27
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Min: 20 | Max: 31
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 17 | Max: 33
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 18 | Max: 31
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Min: 21 | Max: 33
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 18 | Max: 30
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 18 | Max: 31
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 10 | Max: 27
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Min: 19 | Max: 27
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 19 | Max: 33
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 17 | Max: 31
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 17 | Max: 33
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 16 | Max: 30
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 17 | Max: 32
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română
MOST VIEWED

Stage at a Crossroads theatre festival kicks off in Plovdiv

The 29 th edition of the Stage at a Crossroads theatre festival is taking place in Plovdiv as of today until 21 September. The festival programme..

published on 9/10/25 6:35 AM

Bulgarian Literary Salon in Vienna to open on September 17

The Bulgarian Literary Sal onin Vienna will open  its next cultural season with “free, relaxed and entertaining reading,” BTA reports. The literary..

published on 9/10/25 10:22 AM

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"