Ted Kotcheff

The German movie "Zhaleika" directed by Bulgarian Eliza Petkova won the grand prix award for best film in the international competition of the Sofia International Film Festival.

The winner was announced at the award ceremony which took place in hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture (NDK) in the Bulgarian capital on Saturday.

Bulgarian Justice Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva on Friday granted citizenship to Ted Kotcheff, a US director born to Bulgarian parents.

Kotcheff submitted an application in February, prior to his arrival to Bulgaria for this years' edition of the Sofia International Film Festival.

On Monday he is to receive a birth certificate and Bulgarian identity documents.

US film director Ted Kotcheff, who is on a visit to Bulgaria for Sofia Film Fest events, on Friday said he would start work on a movie dedicated to the fate of Bulgarian King Boris III (1918-1943).

Kotcheff, who was awarded a Golden Age order by the Culture Ministry on the same day, was also shown in front of reporters a government decision grantinghim Bulgarian citizenship.

The 20th edition of Sofia International Film Festival begins on Thursday with the screening of the new Bulgarian movie "The prosecutor, the defender, the father and his son" in hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture (NDK) in Sofia.

US director Ted Kotcheff has submitted an application to become a Bulgarian citizen, the organizers of the forthcoming Sofia Film Fest have announced.

Kotcheff, 84, who was born to Bulgarian parents, is best know for having directed First Blood, a Rambo film.

He is quoted as saying that he has "always felt" Bulgarian despite having been born in the United States.