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 CURIOUS (linking theatre and science), European Short Pitch (for production of short-movies) and MEDIA (online platform for women filmmakers). We are 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.
Arte Urbana Collectif is a partner of various international projects such as CURIOUS (linking theatre and science), European Short Pitch (for production of short-movies) and MEDIA (online platform for women filmmakers). We are 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.
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WHO WE ARE |
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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.
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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, of the platform "Theatre & Science", part of CURIOUS project. He has directed and acted in many theatre productions in France, USA and Bulgaria. Dimitar Uzunov gives regularly workshops on creative and digital storytelling and on theatre creation.
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Paraskevi (Evi) Karageorgu film expert Evi is a film critic, producer and filmmaker specialized in cinema education programmes for children. Before her return to Bulgaria in 2019, Evi was part of the Doc Society documentary production company team in London, where she worked on developing a methodology for school education via the power of documentary film. Before London, she was in Slovenia producing "Eye on Film Youth Film Festival", which included an extensive selection of international films and a rich accompanying programme of workshops, and masterclasses for children and young people. In Bulgaria, she has worked with the Liason office of the European Parliament in Bulgaria, the Media Literacy Coalition and other NGOs in the country. Currently, Evi is part of a few Arte Urbana projects, such as shooting a film about the cinema education programme in the Dermantsi village and "My place in cinema", a cinema education programme for empowering girls and young women. |
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. |
Vladimir Bozhilov
science communicator & advisor Dr. Vladimir Bozhilov holds a Ph.D. in Astronomy since 2014. He is currently Head Assistant Professor at the Department of Astronomy, Faculty of Physics at Sofia University, Bulgaria. Dr. Bozhilov is a Horizon 2020 National Contact Point for the “Science with and for Society” Programme (since 2017) and currently also serves as Public Relations Expert at the Bulgarian National Science Fund. Dr. Bozhilov's main scientific interests are active galactic nuclei (AGN) – quasars and blazars at high redshift, cosmology, exoplanets and habitability. He teaches the M.Sc. Courses "Science communication in Astronomy" and "Practical Science Communication in Astronomy" in the innovative interdisciplinary Master program "Astronomy and Popularization of Astronomy" at the Faculty of Physics, University of Sofia.
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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.
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Tzveta Arnautska
photographer Tzveta is currently a student in New Bulgarian University where she studies the crafts of cinema and television with intent to graduate as a director. Before that she’s also profiled as a photographer from her high school that specialises photography. She has been introduced with the art of cinema through the “Meeting of Young European Cinema” festival that took place in 2016. In 2017 she participated in the programme “Le Cinéma, cent ans de jeunesse”, where under the supervision of Ralitsa Assenova and Vassilena Bazharova, she and some of her classmates made a film, that was presented by them in the Cinémathèque française in Paris. Currently she is the official photographer of Arte Urbana Collectif.
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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.
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