The programme of Sofia MENAR presents the best of Middle Eastern, Central Asian and African cinema. The programme of Sofia MENAR Film Festival presents the best of Middle East and North Africa cinema productions, including feature films, documentaries and short projects. A lot of accompanying events are organised within the frames of the festival. These events are particularly selected and bound up with the countries of this region, representing traditions and customs of the ethnic groups that inhabit its lands. The festival is held every year in January and runs at the same time in Sofia and other major Bulgarian cities. MENAR is organised by "Pozor" as one of a kind Balkans` largest cultural event representing Muslim world and its traditions. Amongst the directors whose films have been presented during the festival are names such as Abbas Kiarostami, Majid Majidi, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Ümit Ünal, Asghar Farhadi, Panahbarkhoda Rezaee, Hany Abu-Assad, Bahman Ghobadi, Reza Mir-Karimi, Eran Riklis, Derviş Zaim, Hüseyin Karabey, Susan Youssef, Nacer Khemir, Nadir Mokneche ...
Sofia MENAR Film Festival continues the tradition of "Flowers of the Qu`ran" Film Festival, organised 4 years on end, from 2009 to 2012 making the Bulgarian audience acquainted with more than 120 film productions that bring the spirit of the East. The term MENAR, for "Middle East and North Africa Region", is an acronym often used to cover an extensive area, stretching from Morocco to Iran, including the majority of both the Middle Eastern and Maghreb countries. Menár /منار , pronounced also manár/ in Arabic language means lighthouse, light tower, guiding light. It is derivative from the Arabic word nur /نور/, meaning light. It has got into use into Bulgarian language, by means of Ottoman Turkish language by way of minare word, meaning the tower, which illuminates the path.
