The Bulgarian Film Commission is founded with the mission to support and oversee the successful implementation of the revised Bulgarian Film Act. With the newly introduced 25% cash rebate for film producers at place, we will work to make sure it is mutually beneficial for the investors, the industry and the country.
We can assist you in finding information, partners, expertise and will support you to achieve the best results while working in Bulgaria.
The strategic and long-term objectives of the Bulgarian Film Commission are:
The BFC is a not-for-profit organisation in public interest and privately financed.
Jana Karaivanova has over 30 of years of experience as film producer, festival director and award winning actress. She was CEO of the Bulgarian National Film Center 2017 - 2021 and under her leadership the Bulgarian film industry is granted an unprecedented financing of 22 Million Euro per year in Government Aid and 25% cash rebate was introduced for investors in the Film Act.
Jana Karaivanova is founder of the Bulgaria-America Cultural exchange, the Festival of independent film in Sofia and New York (2000 - 2017), leading actress in the National Theatre with over 20 films and 30 roles in theatre. Her producer's credits include most notably Till Death, starring Maghan Fox.
Jana Karaivanova has Master of Arts degree form the Bulgarian National Academy For Theatre and Film Arts "Krastyo Sarafov". She lives in Sofia and New York for the past 25 years.
Yariv Lerner is the CEO of Nu Boyana Film Studios – one of the leading film production and post-production studios in Europe, based in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Yariv Lerner is a producer of over 40 feature films. His credits include The Protege, The Outpost, Angel Has Fallen, The Hitman's Bodyguard Franchise, Hellboy, among others. Lerner has also worked on various Millennium Media productions among which blockbuster franchise hit The Expendables.
Born in Israel, Yariv Lerner became involved in the film industry in his early years. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Business Administration from the American Intercontinental University in London, UK. From 2002 to 2007 he had a successful career as a professional volleyball player and coach.
Yariv is also the founder of UDAYA Entertainment and producer of purpose-driven cinematic film for yoga, meditation, and wellbeing coaching, with an emphasis on integrated healing arts designed to condition users physically, mentally, and emotionally to achieve greater happiness, life-satisfaction and wellness.
In 2019 Yariv began to attract professional beach volleyball players in Bulgaria (at Sofia Beach) aiming to put the country on the world beach volleyball map and train new talents from Bulgaria in this sport.
Kalina Kottas graduated from The University of National and World Economy in Bulgaria with a Masters degree in Economics.
Kalina started working in the film industry back in 2001 as a production accountant on different internationals projects, serviced in Bulgaria, among them Spartacus, The Contract and The Black Dahlia.
She also has a producer’s credit for Loving Pablo, starring Havier Bardem and Penelope Cruz.
For the past 15 years Kalina Kottas has been serving as the Chief Financial Officer at Nu Boyana Film Studios.
Alexandra Tzvetkova is a public relations professional invested in establishing fruitful partnerships in the filmmaking industry. She is also a creative development adviser for one of the leading filmmaking studios in Europe - NuBoyana.
Alexandra is a producer of documentary films, bts projects and enjoys doing the EPK interviews with the cast and crew on international movies. Recently she was the Unit publicist on Memory, directed by Martin Campbell, starring Liam Neeson, Guy Pearce and Monica Bellucci. Alexandra has also worked on the publicity for The Outpost, Angel Has Fallen, Hellboy and Unchained, among others.
For more than 17 years Alexandra has been involved in the production and communication for various projects and has helped the creation of many campaigns, connected to the culture, history and the young people of Bulgaria. Such an initiative was setting the foundations for the Nu Boyana Studios' program for vocational training of the next generation film of industry professionals.
Graduated from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" with a Bachelor's degree in Bulgarian Philology and a Master's in International Business Relations.
Graduated from the Faculty of Law of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. Lawyer at Sofia Bar Association since 1995. Practicing in the field of privatization and trade law, energy economics and efficiency, direct foreign and local investments, securities, small and medium-sized enterprises, deposit-credit cooperatives, non-profit legal entities, consultations on planning and managing projects funded by USAID and the European Union, and implementation of public benefit policies.
Trainings and certificate of technology transfer, Rice University, Houston, USA, certificate of rules making in support of non-governmental organizations, International Law Institute, Washington, USA, certificate of Project Management, USAID, Wasington, USA, Diploma in Judicial and Law System of the European Union, Nancy University, France.
Chairperson of the Board of Directors of BCause Foundation.
Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Global Libraries-Bulgaria Foundation.
Author of publications on the legal status of energy regulations, insolvency and non-profit organizations.
