Bulgaria was the guest of honour at the 15th edition of the FINI International Film Festival in Mexico
On occasion of Bulgaria being the guest of honour at the 15th edition of the FINI International Film Festival at the Autonomous University of Hidalgo, Mexico, the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Mexico organized a series of cultural and artistic events, including screenings of six Bulgarian films provided by the State Institute for Culture to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Among the highlights of the festival were the presentation of the traveling exhibition from the DCI program “The Letters of Bulgaria – The Alphabet of Europe” at the International Triennial of Stage Posters, as well as a visit by Ms. Albena Spasova, who delivered a lecture on the topic to university students. Again at the suggestion of the DCI, on 21st April 2026, a ceremony was held to confer the Honorary International Professorship to Prof. Gredi Assa by the Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo in the presence of over 400 guests in the "Ing. Baltasar Muñoz Lumbier" hall at the "La Garza" University Cultural Center. This was followed by an academic lecture by Prof. Assa on the topic of “Painting as a Challenge to Culture.” The event was also streamed virtually on FINI’s YouTube channel.
As part of the festival, the embassy organized screenings of six Bulgarian films, provided by the State Institute for Culture, as part of the festival’s 14-day program, in which Bulgaria was the guest of honor. The selection of Bulgarian films aimed to present Bulgaria’s history, traditions, culture, and contemporary art, including feature films “The Endless Garden,” “Bubble Gum,” and “Letters from Antarctica,” and documentaries “The Path of Light,” “Sozopol—The City of Salvation,” and “Power and Gold from the Varna Necropolis.”
The State Institute for Culture to the Minister of Foreign Affairs also assisted in providing musical scores for Pancho Vladigerov’s “Bulgarian Suite,” which was performed by the symphony orchestra of the Autonomous University of Hidalgo, in the “Alfonso Cravioto” concert hall.
In addition to the initiatives carried out with the assistance of the State Institute for Culture, the embassy organized and implemented a series of events—two press conferences for national and local media in Mexico City and Pachuca, a “Taste Bulgaria” culinary class, the “Cyrillic Alphabet” children’s workshop, and a presentation of the “Martenitsa” tradition at a local school, as well as the preparation and display of several documentary exhibitions, including “La Belle rose – The Magical Power of the Little Flower,” provided by the National Historical Museum.
The International Festival of the Image (Festival Internacional De La Imagen – FINI) has been organized annually since 2011. Each of the festival’s previous editions has been dedicated to a different theme, such as “Migration,” “Social Justice,” and this year’s topic - “Culture.”
You may find more information about the festival and Bulgaria’s tenure as guest of honour here.