The film was presented to university teachers and students at Sofia University
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” celebrated 81 years since the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews and honored the memory of the victims of the Holocaust with a screening of the short feature film “Henny. Friendship – Meaning and Salvation”, a production of the Center for Jewish-Bulgarian Cooperation “Alef”. On March 12, 2024, some of the film creators visited the Sofia University at the invitation of Associate Professor Dr. Rumyana Marinova-Christidi – head of the Department of Hebrew Studies at the Faculty of History.
For 35 minutes, nearly 200 professors and students became empathetic to the horror and fear, but also to the hopes of innocent people, whose future the war and the Holocaust could have taken away, if the brave Bulgarians, who protected the lives of their fellow Jews, had not intervened. Aimed primarily at a youth audience, the film goes beyond historical facts by presenting them through the eyes of contemporary young people.
Among the official guests of the screening was the Deputy Ambassador of Israel to Bulgaria, Mrs. Naama Levi. As a descendant of Holocaust survivors, in her address to the audience, Mrs. Levy emphasized the importance of history being studied, emphasizing the heroic act of rescue and honoring the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
The film creation idea was presented by the chairwoman of the Center “Alef” – Alberta Alkalay. The plot is inspired by the themes of the International Literary Student Competition “Whoever Saves One Human Life Saves the Whole Universe”, organized by Alef for 11 years now and by award-winning stories selected from the works of over 1,700 participants from 11 different countries. Some of the laureates of the competition were also present in the hall.
A film as clear as a tear – this is how the popular poet, fiction writer and publisher Rumen Leonidov, who was also among the guests at the University, described it.
The extensive discussion with the creators of the film continued for almost an hour: the director Lyubomir Popov, the screenwriter Tatiana Granitova, the cameraman Dimitar Krumov and the actors Katrin Dimitrova, Iliyan Kanev and Pamela Kostadinova.
Among the numerous comments of the viewers, a desire to create a full-length version of the film “Henny. Friendship – meaning and salvation” was shared.
