The Sofia MENAR Festival for films from the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa will start on January 16 in Sofia with the premiere of the Bulgarian documentary "The Spirit of Scheherazade" by Katerina Borisova. The film is dedicated to talented Arab artists associated with Bulgaria.

The focus of this year's 15th edition will be placed on Iranian cinema. For the first time, viewers in Bulgaria will see the new film by famous Iranian director Manijeh Hekmat. The movie is called “19” and shows the story of Mitra, a 57-year-old woman, who is a single painter and slips into a coma after contracting Covid-19. The audience is also waiting for the premiere of "Mediterranean Fever" by Palestinian director Maha Haj.

The documentary program of the festival this year will go under the slogan MENAR Biting Docs and will include films such as "Kodokushi" - a term that refers to a Japanese phenomenon of people dying alone and remaining undiscovered for a long period of time. Movie goers can also see “Room Without a View”, which tells the story of the women from Ethiopia and Bangladesh who clean the homes of the rich in Lebanon. The festival continues until January 29.