“What does this story have to do with me?”

This is the question at the heart of the second edition of Festival 10.11. Over a week and a half, from 4 to 15 November, the festival will open up a variety of spaces for an essential conversation about Bulgaria’s communist past, through theatre, film, installations, workshops, walking tours, discussions, and the stories behind dishes from the socialist era.

We will bring personal and family memories into conversation with historical facts, giving young people and their questions a central role in helping us better understand our rights, freedoms, and institutions today.

This year, the festival is also part of a larger initiative. Together with like-minded partners, we are laying the foundations for FACADE, the future museum of communist Bulgaria. We want to create an immersive space where archival documents and objects meet personal stories and difficult questions.

Festival 10.11 programme highlights (4–14 November)

Official opening

Friday, 6 November, 6:00 p.m. | Goethe-Institut

Opening event, screening of Chronicles of an Uncomfortable Truth, and a discussion with the film’s team.

Theatre and film

• Documentary theatre productions Sunny Beach and Extraordinary Audition (New Bulgarian University, University Theatre, 4–5 November)
• Documentary film Chronicles of an Uncomfortable Truth, followed by a discussion with the team (6 November, Goethe-Institute)
• Documentary film In the Kitchen of My Heart, followed by a discussion with the director and the film’s protagonists (9 November, FACADE, 37 Iskar Street)

Exhibitions

• Exhibition The Travelling Monument (New Bulgarian University, 11 November)
• Exhibition Belene: Brave Stories Told First-Hand (Burgas, 12 November)

Historical walking tours (7–14 November)

• In Sofia: "Memory" Tram, Freedom Tour (Also available in English), and The Imposition of the Regime.
• Across Bulgaria: Walking tours in Burgas, Ruse, Dimitrovgrad, and Gabrovo.

Discussions

• What from Yesterday Still Lies Ahead? A Conversation with Writer Nino Haratischwili (7 November, Goethe-Institut)
• Discussion: “Not Everything Was Bad” How Do We Talk About Communism Today? (8 November, Goethe-Institut)
• Discussion: “Business and Democracy: Is There a Risk of History Repeating Itself?” (10 November, Umberto & Co., 14 Slavyanska Street, Sofia)

Workshops

• Socialist-Era Cuisine Workshop with Albena Shkodrova (7 November, FACADE, 37 Iskar Street)
• Children’s Workshop: Imaginarium (8 November, FACADE, 37 Iskar Street)

Admission to all events is free. Visit the festival website for the full programme, locations, and registration details: www.1011fest.bg

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Festival 10.11 is organised by Sofia Platform Foundation and New Bulgarian University.

The festival is held with the financial support of Sofia Municipality – Cultural Events Calendar, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Visit Sofia (Tourism Enterprise of Sofia Municipality).

The initiative is held in partnership with Goethe-Institut Bulgaria, FACADE, the Bulgarian Donors’ Forum, the America for Bulgaria Foundation, the BRAIT association, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Bulgaria, and Mahala Bookshop.