PRODUCER •
PRODUCER •
I’m Noura Al Kadri, a Bulgarian–Syrian film producer based in Sofia, founder of Hot Potato. My path in cinema began in 2012, when I entered the world of film distribution and started traveling to international festivals and markets in Berlin, Cannes, Dubai, London, Tehran, Tunis, Hangzhou, and Abidjan. Those early years taught me how stories travel, how audiences respond, and how deeply cinema connects people across cultures.
After several years in distribution, I felt a growing pull toward the creative side of filmmaking - a desire to not only share stories, but to help shape them. I took the leap into producing just two weeks before the global lockdown of 2020 - great timing. Despite the uncertainty of that moment, it became the beginning of a journey that has since led me to produce, a documentary feature, six narrative shorts, two experimental dance films and a couple MVs.
I’m drawn to innovative, character-driven narratives that blur the boundaries between genre and experimentation. I love collaborating with emerging directors and supporting them as they discover and refine their own auteur voice. Finding stories that resonate - emotionally or politically - is what fuels me, and I approach each project with curiosity, care, and a dedication to meaningful creative partnership.
Alumna of i-Portunus Creative Mobility 2020, Film+ Romania 2021 & 2022, Kyoto Filmmakers Lab 2022, ShorTS Development & Pitching Training [Maremetraggio].
Through Hot Potato, I want to help create a space where genre stories from Eastern Europe can emerge.
⅓ of Cinema Strolls - editor
Markets attended:
ASBU Tunisia 2016
Discop Dubai 2017, 2019
Discop Abidjan 2019
FAJR Iran 2019
MIP China 2019
MipTV Cannes 2019
MipCOM Cannes 2020
EFM-Berlinale 2019, 2022, 2025
Marché du film - 2022
BRNO16 - 2022, 2025
Fantasporto 2023
WRITER-DIRECTOR • COMPOSER • EDITOR •
WRITER-DIRECTOR • COMPOSER • EDITOR •
This is Angel Radev, a Bulgarian writer-director born in 1989 in the seaside city of Burgas. He graduated in Film Studies from the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia in 2013 and started work in the Bulgarian National Film Archive where he works to this day. He started as an usher in the archive’s cinema – Odeon – where he got to watch a bunch of films.
Before returning to the Film Archive, he worked at Nu Boyana Film Studios between 2015 and 2019 in administration, film pre-production, and development as a script reader.
Returning to the Film Archive in 2019, he took on the role of film conservationist and digitization technical supervisor.
His passion for silent cinema led him to write and direct his debut “The Curse of the Dutchman” and his desire to experiment with structure led him to “ECHO”.
He is currently working on a thriller short - Coming Clean - set in his hometown and a debut feature - LULU - about the unexpected consequences of the current machine learning revolution, which is selected in this year’s LIM (LESS IS MORE) program.
He composed the score for four short narrative films - MIRROR TOUCH, ECHO, NICOLE and THEY. In his free time he makes music under SOF POP and posts loops on his insta.
Interested in every step of filmmaking he's been working in the editing dept of Bulgarian TV series for 10 years.
Alumnus of FIAF Film Restoration Summer School - Il Cinema Ritrovato 2024, Kyoto Filmmaker Lab 2022, Film+ Romania 2022.
Member of the Union of Bulgarian Film Makers (UBFM).
⅓ of Cinema Strolls - host
Attended film markets:
Marché du film (Cannes) 2022
EFM-Berlinale 2022, 2025
• PRODUCER • DIRECTOR • EDITOR
• PRODUCER • DIRECTOR • EDITOR
This is Roman Pessarov, a Bulgarian director-producer, born and raised in Mozambique. He studied Psychology at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” before completing degrees in Film Studies and Film Production in London.
After returning to Bulgaria, he started working at NuBoyana Film Studios, where he took part in international productions, worked on screenplay assessment, and shot documentaries.
His directorial debut, Mirror Touch, won Best Bulgarian Short Film at the 2024 Burgas International Film Festival. Shortly after that, his producing debut, Nicole, received the award for best short film at Sofia International Film Festival.
Roman works closely with a like-minded group of peers and is part of the new generation of Bulgarian filmmakers. Interested in genre cinema and its possibilities, he focuses on psychologically driven stories, often exploring characters - usually men-who see themselves as protagonists and treat others as obstacles, trophies, or tools in their pursuit of control.
⅓ of Cinema Strolls - host
He is actively involved in the international film community and has attended major film markets like:
MIPTV 2019
Marché du film Cannes 2022
EFM-Berlinale 2019, 2020, 2022, 2025