Dear organizers,

Dear participants and guests,

Dear benefactors,

Best of luck to the XXI International Festival of Red Cross and Health Films! The residents and guests of Varna are once again eagerly awaiting the interesting program of the festival, the meetings with the participants. Each edition writes history, but this year is special because the festival celebrates its 60th anniversary. A long biography, which is a source of pride for its organizers and its many friends. A biography that has left a deep mark on the minds of many.

The International Festival of Red Cross and Health Films is a lesson in philanthropy, necessary for each of us in today's world of unnecessary confrontation, denial, intense change and uncertainty. A lesson that reminds us of the power of human virtues - a person is a person when they offer a hand for support and help, when they empathize with both the joy and pain of others, when they want to and can hear, understand and accept them.

Thank you for the unwavering energy and faith in the good of all the shining people who have left and continue to leave a part of themselves for the International Festival of Red Cross and Health Films! Benefactors who infect us with goodness through their good deeds - for that, a vaccine will never be discovered!

It is an honor for me to be on your team!

DEAR MR. RAEV,

ESTEEMED PARTICIPANTS, GUESTS, AND ORGANIZERS

OF THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

OF RED CROSS AND HEALTH FILMS,

It is both an honor and a privilege to warmly welcome all of you to our city for the 21st edition of the International Festival of Red Cross and Health Films—an event with a rich legacy, which this year proudly marks its 60th anniversary.

Varna is home to many festivals and, over the years, has become a dynamic center of cultural, musical, scientific, and educational life—and among these, this festival occupies a truly unique and cherished place. More than a cultural gathering, the festival stands as a vital bridge between art, humanity, and social responsibility. For decades, it has provided a platform for dialogue, empathy, shared values, and creative inspiration—principles we must not only uphold but also pass on to future generations.

I express my deepest congratulations to all participants for their commitment to telling meaningful stories and creating impactful artistic experiences. Your boldness in exploring innovative forms of expression, addressing pressing social issues, and offering fresh perspectives on complex and sensitive topics is truly commendable. I also express my genuine gratitude to the organizers, whose professionalism and unwavering dedication have sustained the spirit and legacy of this remarkable forum.

My appreciation extends as well to the volunteers, healthcare professionals, artists, and audience members who bring this festival to life and transform it into a celebration of human dignity, empathy, and shared understanding. Your commitment to guiding younger generations toward solidarity and mutual support in today’s fast-paced, often challenging world is profoundly admirable. I applaud each of you for your distinctive creative voice, which has, for so many years, fostered open and honest dialogue about the urgent issues of our time. May this jubilee edition of the festival move us one step closer to a more compassionate, resilient, and humane world!

Wishing you all inspiring days, great success, and well-being.

Blagomir Kotsev
Mayor of the Municipality of Varna

Dear participants, guests, and friends of the Festival,

It is both an honor and a pleasure to welcome you to the 21st edition of the International Festival of Red Cross and Health Films – an event with deep-rooted traditions, an inspiring mission, and a lasting contribution to humanitarian culture.

This year, we mark the 60th anniversary of the Festival – a worthy milestone that reaffirms Varna as a global center of cinema dedicated to the human condition, health, solidarity, and the moral dimensions of the modern world. Under the emblematic motto “Through Humanity to Peace and Friendship,” the Festival continues to unite artists, doctors, volunteers, and audiences from all continents, transforming into a platform for dialogue, sharing, and inspiration.

We are honored that the Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Ms. Iliana Yotova, is the patron of the Festival. This is not only a sign of institutional support, but also an inspiring message to all of us – that culture, solidarity, and human values continue to serve as guiding principles in today’s society. Through her public engagement and consistent support for humanitarian causes, Ms. Yotova brings depth and authority to our mission.

We are particularly proud that Bulgarian cinema is in the spotlight of this year’s program, with 24 titles that proudly represent our national cinematography to the international audience. Among more than 2,800 submitted films from around the world, the selection of 226 films from 62 countries stands as a testament to the prestige and global reach of our forum.

I extend my sincere thanks to all who, through their hard work, heart, and vision, have transformed this Festival into a celebration of humanism – to the organizers, partners, institutions, volunteers, and of course, the participants from Bulgaria and across the globe.

I express special gratitude to our long-standing partners from the Medical University "Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov" – Varna for their dedicated support and key role in establishing the Festival as a significant international event.

May this remarkable forum inspire us to continue working for a world in which kindness, compassion, and mutual understanding are the leading values.

I wish you a fruitful participation, unforgettable encounters, and moving cinematic experiences!

Acad. HRISTO GRIGOROV, Ph.D.
Chairman of the Bulgarian Red Cross

Dear Organizers,

Dear Participants,

Dear Guests,

Please accept my warmest congratulations on the opening of the 21st edition of the International Festival of Red Cross and Health Films, which this year marks the 60th anniversary of its founding!

It is an honor for the Medical University – Varna to be part of this event, which has a long-standing tradition in our maritime capital and enjoys significant public recognition. Our commitment to humanitarian values, to high-quality education, and to innovation in healthcare finds its natural expression in supporting initiatives like this one—initiatives that bring together professionalism, empathy, and cultural dialogue.

I am confident that the rich and diverse program will once again inspire the festival’s loyal audience, sparking meaningful discussions and fresh ideas in the name of human dignity and well-being.

I wish you all good health and every success.

Best wishes for a successful event!

Prof. Dr. Dimitar Raykov, MD
Rector of Medical University "Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov" - Varna

Dear friends,

With great excitement and pride, I welcome you to the 60th anniversary edition of the International Festival of Red Cross and Health Films – a cultural and humanitarian event with deep traditions and a strong future!

Sixty decades – this is not just a number. It is a span of time filled with mission, with countless stories of humanity, suffering, hope, and recovery. It is a stage where cinema speaks from the heart, in service of universal humanitarian principles and health as a core value.

Fifteen years ago, the Festival was revived through hard work, love, and faith – and today, it once again stands as an important forum that brings together creators, professionals, and audiences from around the world. Together, we continue to build a space for dialogue, empathy, and the shaping of a better future.

I thank all those who have supported the Festival over the years – institutions, partners, volunteers, artists, and audiences! Without you, this journey would not have been possible.

Long live the Festival!

Long live Humanity!

Ilko Raev
Director of the International Festival of Redheads and Health Films

Dear participants and organizers,

Dear guests,

Dear volunteers,

In 2014, after nearly a quarter of a century of interruption, we revived one of the most prestigious festivals of our maritime capital – the International Festival of Red Cross and Health Films – driven by enthusiasm, faith, and a desire to create.

Alongside our primary goal at the time – to gather and showcase the finest films focused on pressing humanitarian and health-related issues, produced by Red Cross organizations around the world – we also set ourselves a higher mission: to transform Varna into a spiritual haven for art and health, a home of compassion and solidarity.

Today, as we eagerly anticipate the opening of the 21st edition of this remarkable film forum, which this year celebrates its 60th anniversary, I am once again filled with hope and confidence. I firmly believe that the challenges of the modern world can be overcome through education, science, and culture.

As a leading educational and scientific institution, the Medical University – Varna fulfills its mission not only through the training of students, doctoral candidates, and specialists, but also through its service to society at large. I am convinced that during the festival, Varna will become not only a stage for the best health-related films, but also a cradle for the revival of the high moral values that make us truly human – humanity, kindness, compassion, empathy, solidarity, gratitude, and integrity.

Let us work together to build a world in which goodness has a lasting future.

Prof. Dr. Krasimir Ivanov, MD, PhD, DSc
Chairman of the General Assembly
Medical University "Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov" – Varna

Dear participants and guests,

Dear festival audience,

It so happened that I am writing these lines on the very International Day of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, when the radio reminded me of the date just as I was sitting down in front of the computer and calculating how many years have passed since Henri Dunant's spontaneous idea, after the bloody battle of Solferino (1859), to organize the people from the surrounding villages and care for the thousands of dead and wounded left on the battlefield.

Today, we all commemorate this memorable day, paying tribute to the millions of volunteers and humanitarian workers who tirelessly help people in need all over the world. It is no coincidence that volunteering is one of the seven purest and most powerful principles of the international Red Cross movement, because humanism, or as we say in Bulgarian – humanity, is the ordinary manifestation of everyday morality, without which our existence loses its meaning. This undeniable truth is most concentrated in the simple verbal motto: "Blood is red everywhere."

These timeless ideas are dedicated to the International Festival of Red Cross and Health Films, which was born here in Varna 60 years ago, and later, rightfully so, received the highest "A" category in the international festival rankings. Unfortunately, its highly beneficial cultural flame was extinguished after the changes of 1989, but with the efforts of the Varna Regional Red Cross Council, in collaboration with the Medical University and with the decisive support of the National Council of the Bulgarian Red Cross, the festival was revived in 2014 to once again light up the screen with a rich and diverse film program, along with many other parallel events. This is what the present XXI edition will also be like! We hope that not only the viewers in Varna, but also through the media across the entire country, will appreciate the significance and value of such a cultural event, especially important in the difficult times we are living in.

May 8, 2025

Prof. PhD Bozhidar Manov
Art Director

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