In January 1915, Bulgaria's first feature-length film was screened in the capital of Sofia.
Bulgaran is Gallant ("Българан е галант") was written, directed by and starred Vasil Gendov.
The film was a light comedy and Gendov's performance drew comparisons to French actor Max Linder.
The film was almost entirely destroyed during the World War II bombardment of Sofia in 1944  and all that remains are one or two frames.
Between 1915 and 1937 Gendov would write, produce and appear in eleven films, making him one of the most prolific filmmakers in Bulgaria of the era.

Gendov would found the first Bulgarian film production cooperative Yantra Film and in 1933 he would write, direct and star in Bulgaria's first sound film The Slave's Revolt ("Бунтът на робите").
The film would also star Gendov's wife Ivana "Zhana" Gendova, who appeared in most of Gendov's films.
The film centered on Bulgaria's struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire and Gendov starred as Vasil Levski, a leading figure in the Bulgarian uprising of 1873.
The film proved to be controversial, with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs claiming it 'depicts and demonstrates the imagined tyranny which the Bulgarians experienced under 500 years of Turkish rule,' and 'whose crude and ugly depiction' would 'offend ... the feelings of our nation as well as instigate Bulgarian ideas against us.'
The Ministry then demanded an explanation from the Bulgarian government as to why it had given permission for the circulation of such a film.
The Bulgarian government defended the film and did not accept the Turkish view that the film was anti-Turkish, pointing out that 'since the imagined events in the film concerned the Ottoman period, [the film] could not be perceived as being against the new Turkish government and nation.'
In January 1915, Bulgaria's first feature-length film was screened in the capital of Sofia. Bulgaran is Gallant ("Българан е галант") was written, directed by and starred Vasil Gendov. The film was a light comedy and Gendov's performance drew comparisons to French actor Max Linder. The film was almost entirely destroyed during the World War II bombardment of Sofia in 1944  and all that remains are one or two frames. Between 1915 and 1937 Gendov would write, produce and appear in eleven films, making him one of the most prolific filmmakers in Bulgaria of the era.
Gendov would found the first Bulgarian film production cooperative Yantra Film and in 1933 he would write, direct and star in Bulgaria's first sound film The Slave's Revolt ("Бунтът на робите"). The film would also star Gendov's wife Ivana "Zhana" Gendova, who appeared in most of Gendov's films. The film centered on Bulgaria's struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire and Gendov starred as Vasil Levski, a leading figure in the Bulgarian uprising of 1873. The film proved to be controversial, with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs claiming it 'depicts and demonstrates the imagined tyranny which the Bulgarians experienced under 500 years of Turkish rule,' and 'whose crude and ugly depiction' would 'offend ... the feelings of our nation as well as instigate Bulgarian ideas against us.' The Ministry then demanded an explanation from the Bulgarian government as to why it had given permission for the circulation of such a film. The Bulgarian government defended the film and did not accept the Turkish view that the film was anti-Turkish, pointing out that 'since the imagined events in the film concerned the Ottoman period, [the film] could not be perceived as being against the new Turkish government and nation.'
Vasil Gendov