The 8th edition of the International Film Festival “In The Palace” in the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Balchik will bring together filmmakers from 44 countries,

The film fest will take place from June 19 to 26, the festival organizers said Tuesday.

“In The Palace” is the most famous and prestigious film forum featuring professional short films, up to 45 min in length, that have not been screened in Bulgaria.

At the upcoming edition, the guests will have the opportunity to see 50 hours of the most interesting 242 short films, chosen from more than 4 000 candidatures. The number of candidate films is record-high for the festival.

The producers of more than 120 films have confirmed their attendance. As usual, “In The Palace” will be the stage for the newest tendencies in the short-film making.

The international jury will chose the best films in six different categories, including “MINI it” for features and animations, and “SONY it” for documentary and television films. Google's Creative Director, Ji Lee, will be the Chairman of the jury deciding the best video for “Commercial & Music it”, which is the category for commercials and music videos.

“In The Palace” has established itself not only as a meeting point for filmmakers, but also as an opportunity for Bulgarian musicians to share the stage with their international colleagues.

The festival is named after Balchik's historial palace complex, used in the early 1900s as a summer residence of the Romanian queen at the time of the Romanian occupation of South Dobrudzha. It now serves as a stage for presenting the festival films.

More information for the film fest is available on its website HERE.