ABOUT US

ARTE URBANA COLLECTIF is an artistic collective based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The collective was created in 2016 by Ralitsa Assenova (programmer and project coordinator) and Dimitar Uzunov (producer and theatre director) who later were joined by other artists and cultural managers from Bulgaria. The collective organizes various cultural events such as festivals, workshops, masterclasses and other educational forums, and theatre performances in Bulgaria, and aims to create an international artistic and cultural dynamic in the country. Arte Urbana Collectif runs two big annual events: Meetings of Young European Cinema in Sofia, festival dedicated to the first films and the young audience, and Summer Scriptwriting Base, residence for authors from all over the world, held in various locations in Bulgaria.

Arte Urbana Collectif is a partner of various international projects such as Jet Propulsion Theatre (linking theatre and science), European Short Pitch (for production of short-movies) and is supported by important institutions such as Sofia municipality and its cultural program, National Cultural Fund, Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, Institut français de Bulgarie and the Embassy of France in Bulgaria, Espaço Camões Sofia and the Embassy of Portugal in Bulgaria, Goethe-Institut Bulgaria, British Council, the Bulgarian National Film Archive, etc.

Arte Urbana Collectif has been coordinating the programs for cinema education CinEd and Le Cinéma, cent ans de jeunesse for Bulgaria since 2017 and has organized several projects for the Cultural program of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Commission 2017 and Plovdiv - European Capital of Culture 2019.

WHO WE ARE

Ralitsa Assenova
co-founder

Graduated from the Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3 in Theatre and in Cinema Studies. She also studied in the University of Bologna, where she wrote a research paper on the work of Pier Paolo Pasolini. Ralitsa Assenova has worked on many cultural projects both in France and in Bulgaria. She also has experience in the field of cultural journalism and has specialized in European policies and cultural projects. In the past six years, she is lead organizer and director of the festival Meetings of Young European Cinema in Sofia and coordinator for Bulgaria of the projects CinEd – European Cinema Education for Youth, WOMED, Le Cinéma cent ans de jeunesse.

Dimitar Uzunov
co-founder

Holds an MS degree in Geology from University of Sofia and later an MA in Applied Theatre Studies from University Paris 8. He also studied acting, theatre directing and theatre management in Brooklyn College (CUNY). In 2008 he founded Famille Mundi theatre company in Paris and since then he has been directing the productions of the company. He is director of Summer Scriptwriting Base, an immersive summer school, and of the platform "Theatre & Science", Bulgarian hub of Jet Propulsion Theatre. He has been directed and acted in many theatre productions in France, USA and Bulgaria. Dimitar Uzunov gives regularly workshops on storytelling and on theatre creation.

Vassilena Badzharova
expert

Cinema critic (she studied cinema in the Bulgarian National Academy of Cinema and Theatre and in the University of Stirling - UK), a screenwriter and a mentor in numerous youth programs related to cinema and other arts. Since 2017 she is a pedagogical expert within two programs for cinema education for youth - CinEd and Le Cinéma, cent ans de jeunesse. She is also part of the team of Meetings of Young European Cinema coordinating the programme for the young audience.

Nikola Nalbantov
set & video designer

Holds a MFA in Set Design: Visual Performance program from the National Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia. Winner of Icarus Award for Scenography in 2010 for the set design of "The Wicked Man" from the Four Rooms Project. Winner together with Evgenia Serbeva in 2010 of a prize from the international competition "eDward - The Young Filmmaker's Award" for the 3D movie "... Priceless ..." In 2013, he is nominated, together with Elena Shopova, for the Icarus Award for Scenography for “Protext 5: On Time” visual environment. He has been set designer and video-artist of many theatre and dance performances - "Carnival.com", "Jump", "Madam Mishima", "Pandora". He has participated in several of the OSAIC "36 Monkeys” projects - "Reya", "Protext", "Praehidno", "The Time of the Quarks".
He is the set designer & videoartist of Arte Urbana Collectif’s productions “George Kaplan” and “The Long Way to the Stars”. More at nikolanalbantov.com

Alexandrina Al-Djassem
coordinator

Passionate art lover, she became part of Arte Urbana in 2016. Alexandrina holds MSc in Genetics and she wins the Bulgarian FameLab competition in 2011. She has worked as a journalist in Bulgarian National Radio. She is looking passionately to reveal the beauty of science through the art. She loves to be surrounded from people making art and people passionate about science.
Alexandrina coordinates the platform Theatre & Science and Summer Scriptwriting Base.

Daniel Simeonov
pedagogical expert

Daniel Simeonov graduated Film Directing from NBU. Studied Philosophy in Sofia University and World cinema in University of Birkbeck, London. His bachelor thesis project is the short documentary Close; directed a couple of student films and TV commercials, film reviewer, collaborator for a couple of film festivals. His first solo photo exhibition Close to the Middle East was displayed at the Cinema House, Sofia. Currently is a teacher in the village of Dermantzi. He devotes his efforts to promote the necessity of more art curriculum and disciplines in Bulgarian education system, especially cinema. Аdherent collaborator of project CinEd – European Cinema Education for Youth for Bulgaria.

PARTNERS & FUNDERS