Bulgaria: An MP and Supporters of "Vazrazhdane" again Attacked a Cinema that Screened LGBTQ+ Movie

Last night, a group of "Vazrazhdane" (Revival) supporters, led by the party's deputy Emil Yankov, attacked a movie screening again - this time in Plovdiv, "Pod tepeto" reported.

The screening they didn't like was the same as in Sofia - the Belgian film "Close". This time, however, its screening has nothing to do with "Sofia Pride", but is part of the program of French-language films at the "Francofolies" festival. Last week, another MP and supporters of the party besieged the "Odeon" cinema in protest against the LGBTQ+ community and "pedophilia" - which is in no way present in the movie.

The nationalists insulted those present at the screening in Plovdiv's "LUCKY House of Cinema", among whom was a pregnant woman. They even jumped on random passers-by to the bar next to the cinema, attacked a bar employee who just wanted to pass - claimed she was a "gender" and gave her advice on how to "heal from it".

Then, led by the deputy Emil Yankov, they tried to storm the lobby of the cultural institution. They admitted to "Pod tepete" that none of them had seen the film and had created impressions from retellings on social networks.

As with the action in front of the "Odeon" cinema, Kostadinov's sympathizers (Kostadin Kostadinov is the leader of "Vazrazhdane) carried leaflets with inscriptions against "LGBTQ+ propaganda". And some were also with St. George ribbons, traditionally worn by supporters of the USSR and Russophiles.

The Plovdiv police, unlike the Sofia police, did not allow an escalation and escorted the group out of the building. At the screening in the capital, it became clear that the police had greeted the protesters, allowed them into the cinema, which eventually led to the cancellation...