The National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA) is Bulgaria’s premier tertiary school and one of the top training European institutions in the fields of Stage and Screen Arts. It was founded in 1948 and remains the only state-funded educational institution in the country. It is located in Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria. The population of Sofia is about 1,5 million; it is a busy city with a long history, a colourful mixture of antiquity and modernity. The climate is considered moderate. Traveling around the city and the region is easy and there are lots of exciting places to see.

The National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts aspires to give a first-rate professional and academic education to each of its students, to foster their creativity and to broaden their cultural horizons. The academic staff consists of distinguished practising artists, critics, researchers and educators in the field of Stage and Screen Arts, with a deep commitment to their work.

The process of applying theory to professional practice is essential to our educational philosophy. The graduates of NATFA acquire a wide range of creative, critical, performing and productive skills and qualifications. Many of them build rewarding careers in Bulgaria and abroad.

Every year NATFA admits approximately 120 students out of which 20 are foreign students. International co-operation at all levels of academic and artistic exchange has always been among the top priorities of NATFA. The outstanding achievements of our graduates are recognized through yearly participation in numerous national and international students’ and professional festivals, workshops, seminars, congresses, conferences and symposia. NAFTA is actively engaged in many international projects in the field of theatre and film arts. Since 1982 NATFA has been a full member of CILECT (Centre International de Liason des Ecoles de Cinema et de Television), since 1990 it has been a full member of ELIA (The European League of Institutes of the Arts). NATFA is also a member of UNIMA (The International Puppeteers Association) and ITI (The International Theatre Institute). It has established long-term contacts with universities and art academies all over the world. We are an active partner in projects developed through ERASMUS, TEMPUS, SOCRATES and other educational programs.

At present NATFA occupies three neighbouring buildings situated in the heart of Sofia. It is surrounded by the National Palace of Culture, the National Drama Theatre, the National Opera House and the National Puppet Theatre. At a walking distance one can also find the biggest open-air book-market in the Balkans, a huge variety of shopping outlets, more than ten modern cinema halls as well as Sofia’s most famous theatres. The Drama Training Theatre (440 seats). It had its first premiere in 1957 and has functioned since then as a repertory theatre, with six performances per week and at least ten different shows per school year. In addition there are several small stages, new and experimental forms and genres, and open to the general public.

The Puppet Training Theatre (80 seats). It opened its doors for audiences in 1966 and since then it has won wide recognition for its innovative works in the field of puppet art. A specially designed puppet workshop is available to students who would like to make their own puppets, guided by professional artists. The Film and Video Screening Hall (80 seats) has contemporary projection equipment for 35 mm, 16 mm, Beta SP and DVD films. It allows students from all fields to regularly watch classic movies as well as to get acquainted with the latest achievements in the field of audiovisual arts and to meet their authors at workshops and seminars.

The Training Audio-visual complex includes the Training Cinema Studio, the Training TV Centre and the Digital Multimedia Centre. The Training Cinema Studio has a motion picture studio, a photo studio, a workshop for motion picture equipment, a lighting equipment workshop, a sound recording studio and a video recording studio. The Training TV Centre has two air-conditioned and sound-proof studios (one of them of 150 sq.m. and the other of 50 sq.m.), fully equipped with lighting, round-horizon, green box, with possibility for multi-camera shooting. There is a digital post-production studio and a sound booth for linear editing. The Digital Multimedia Centre consists of 10 specialized stations with computer and audio-visual equipment. The NATFA Academic Information Centre , has 60 000 volumes of Bulgarian and foreign books. Here one can also find the country’s unique complete catalogued archive of Bulgarian theatre which contains all kinds of printed material (posters, photos, programs, brochures, newspaper and magazine clips, etc.) dating from 1879 to the present. 24 hour Internet facilities are also available there.

Accomodation of all students is possible at reasonable prices in the NATFA hostel situated on the premises of the Sofia Students’ Campus. The campus never stops living and its infrastructure includes sports’ facilities, a wide variety of restaurants, recreational and entertainment centers, a specialized polyclinic hospital, shopping areas, children’s playgrounds and nursery-schools, low-price students’ diners and a convenient transport network.