Dressing up Bulgarian movies

An exhibition of spectacular costumes from historical Bulgarian films in Sofia

More than 500 spectacular costumes, weapons, props and photographs from Bulgarian movies produced from the 50's to early 80's -the golden age of Bulgarian cinema- can be seen until the end of February in an exhibition at Sofia’s National Museum of History. The exhibition is dedicated to the Day of the Leaders of the Bulgarian National Revival and is curated by producer Evgeny Mihailov who had been directing the famed Nu Boyana Film Studios for nine years. Art director and designer of the show is Rumyana Troshanova, who has created sets for more than 150 theatre productions in Bulgaria.

The exhibition comes to Sofia from Varna, after having received 80 thousands visitors in more than 25 cities and towns in Bulgaria in a course of three years. All items on display were donated to the History Museum by the Boyana Studios in 2006, shortly before their privatization, in order to create a collection for the future Cinema Museum

The exhibition occupies two halls. In the main hall we can see costumes from historical films on the First and the Second Bulgarian Kingdoms (Kaloyan, Boris I, Khan Asparuh, The Golden Age, Time of Violence, The Day of the Rulers, The Weddings of King Ioan Assen, The Master of Boyana, Constantine the Philosopher, etc.), as well as the period of the Third Bulgarian Kingdom from the end of the 19th till the middle of the 20th century. All costumes were made following consultations with historians. The clothes of Kaloyan and Desislava are made after the Boyana Church frescoes.

To make their visit even more enjoyable, the Museum allows visitors to put on some costumes and dress up as warriors and boyars and be photographed in them. They can also enjoy the musical scores from some of the most characteristic movies in the Bulgarian film history, like The Goat’s Horn, The Boy is Going Away, Doomed Souls, etc. Every Friday at 2.30pm they can also watch their favorite classical movies in the Museum.