Balkan Productions Shortlisted for European Oscars

Four films with Bulgarian and Romanian participation have been shortlisted in four different categories for prestigious European Film Awards.

"King of the Belgians", a co-production of Belgium, the Netherlands and Bulgaria, is competing in the European Comedy category, while the Bulgarian-Danish-French Drama "Godless", has been chosed as one of five films being presented in the European Discovery category.

The other two - "The Good Postman" by Bulgarian-Finnish director Tonislav Hristov and "Written/Unwritten" by Romanian director Adrian Silisteanu - have been selected for the Documentary and Short Film categories respectively.

The competitors for the European Film Academy's 2017 awards were announced at the Seville European Film Festival Monday night and will be voted on by more than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy before the awards ceremony on December 9 in Berlin.

Other notable, leading entries include Hungarian romantic drama "On Body and Soul", by director Ildikó Enyedi, Ruben Ostlund's "The Square" (a joint production from Sweden, Germany, France and Denmark), as well as acclaimed Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev's "Loveless", which are all shortlisted for multiple categories.

But what are the stories of the Balkan produtions that reached the echelons of Europe's best films, according to the academy?

King of the Belgians

"King of the Belgians" is part mockumentary, part road-trip film, in which a sleeping monarch travelling through the Balkans to Istanbul awakens to the news that his country has fallen apart. 

He must return home to save his kingdom, but a solar storms shuts down all flights and communications. He manages to escape over the Turkish border with the help of a...