Bulgaria has selected Valeska Grisebach’s film “The Dreamed Adventure” to represent the country in the 2027 Academy Awards race for Best International Feature Film. The movie won the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It is a Bulgarian-set gangster drama and thriller, described as slow-burning and gritty.
The film’s story is set in Svilengrad, a small Bulgarian town near the borders with Türkiye and Greece. With the selection, Bulgaria enters the international film competition for the Oscar category reserved for submissions from countries outside the United States. While outlets agree on the Cannes win and Bulgaria’s submission decision, they mainly differ in emphasis—one provides more detail about the plot setting, while the other focuses more briefly on the Oscar selection and Cannes recognition.
