On the occasion of Francophonie Month, the Bulgarian film “Because I Love Bad Weather” was presented in Dublin
The Alliance Française in Dublin hosted a screening of Bulgarian feature film “Because I Love Bad Weather” (Bulgaria, 2024, 100’) by author and director Yana Lekarska. The screening, which has been made possible by the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Dublin with the assistance of the State Institute for Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, is part of this year’s edition of the “Dublin Francophonie Film Festival 2026”.
Ms. Tatyana Karadjova, Counselor at the embassy, welcomed the audience and introduced them to the awards won by the film and the creative path of its director Ms. Yana Lekarska. Special thanks were extended to the Embassy of France in Dublin and the Alliance Française for their continuous efforts each year to prepare a rich and diverse cultural program, which includes events by no less than 29 embassies of member states and observers of the International Organization of La Francophonie.
This year’s edition of the festival centres on the theme of « Femmes et Francophonie » (‘Women and Francophonie‘) and is dedicated to the role and contribution of women in the Francophone world. During the festival, throughout the month of March, a number of cultural and educational events will take place, including film screenings, literary readings and meetings, discussions, and initiatives in the field of education.
About the film, director and screenwriter Ms. Yana Lekarska says: "My intention with this film was to show how the past that each of us carries, while important, remains no more than precisely that – the past – and that it is our duty to jump off it, like a springboard, and move forward, beyond the frames and limitations which life and society seek to impose upon us." Yana Lekarska is a graduate in Film Directing from Chung-Ang University in Seoul, South Korea and New Bulgarian University in Sofia. Her latest project, as executive producer of "A Summer's End Poem" (dir. Lam Can-Zhao, China), received the Special Prize for Best Short Film of the Generation International Jury at Berlinale 2024.
"Because I Love Bad Weather" tells the story of Irina (Neda Spasova), a young woman who returns to her home by the sea. There, she meets Boris (Vladimir Mihaylov), a childhood friend of hers. In their relationship, the two characters rediscover both themselves and the need for love, the one that gives meaning and direction to human life. The film has won the Audience Award in the International Competition Section at the 28th Sofia International Film Festival, the Discovery Competition Award at the 28th International Women's Film Festival in Seoul, South Korea and the East of Europe Competition Award at the 20th CINEFEST - Miskolc International Film Festival.