2 April | Monday | 18:30 | discussion | Pesha Nikolova | Bg | Free entrance

Recognized as both a type of art and sports, video games have long been the subject of various programmes in universities around the world and of an expanding field of academic research, as well as a hot topic for theoretical, cultural, sociological, pedagogical, but also purely aesthetic debates. Although Bulgarian video game makers have been on the global arena for 20 years, their place in Bulgarian culture is still marginal and Bulgaria's prevailing attitude towards video games is that they are a temporary misunderstanding. What is this discrepancy due to? Will these attitudes change? Just days after the world premiere of the Haemimont game Surviving Mars, Bulgarian video game makers and teachers in the newly created Master's Programme "Digital Media and Video Games" at Sofia University will meet to discuss the present and future of video games. The Master's Programme "Digital Media and Video Games" will also be presented.

With the participation of: Vesselin Handjiev (Black Sea Games), Gabriel Dobrev (Haemimont Games), Enyo Stoyanov and Miglena Nikolchina (Sofia University "Digital Media and Video Games" Master's Progrmma), Zhana Popova (Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, Sofia University).

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The Open University is a series of open lectures and discussions for all who want to expand their knowledge of the modern world. The university offers quality lectures to non-specialists on contemporary topics in an accessible language by university teachers, scientists and experts.The fifth series of the University examines the relationship between science, art and technology. The lectures are organized by the Re: Foundation for Science and Art Research and the Seminar "Interactive Cultures"

Reservations: you can reserve a seat every working day by calling 02/988 8188, 0885 828 532 or e-mailing [email protected]. Reservations are held up to 15 minutes before the event.

12 April | Thursday | 18:30 | lecture by Petko Tanchev and Atanas Dinchev | Red hall | in Bulgarian | Tickets: 5 BGN

The lecture will present different methods for creating visual content for theater scenography, contemporary dance, audiovisual performance, installations in museums, galleries and public spaces. The focus will be on hardware and software tools that are used to build live interaction between the performer, the audience, and the place. What processes and levels of communication exist between the virtual world and the physical world? Can pixels create atoms, and vice versa?

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The Open University is a series of open lectures and discussions for all who want to expand their knowledge of the modern world. The university offers quality lectures to non-specialists on contemporary topics in an accessible language by university teachers, scientists and experts.The fifth series of the University examines the relationship between science, art and technology. The lectures are organized by the Re: Foundation for Science and Art Research and the Seminar "Interactive Cultures"

The online ticket sale ends 21 hours before the event. Tickets are sold until the start of the event every working day between 9:00 and 21:00 at the Red House desk at 15 L. Karavelov Str., Sofia 1142.

Reservations: you can reserve a seat every working day by calling 02/988 8188, 0885 828 532 or e-mailing [email protected]. Reservations are held up to 15 minutes before the event.

2, 3 April | Monday, Tuesday | 19:30 | comedy show |
Red hall | in Gibberish | 70 min| Tickets: 15 BGN

Avant-Garde is a physical comedy show on the universal theme of war and struggle. Two brothers and their two best friends are enrolled in the armed services and sent on a mission to locate and identify the enemy. Their diverse adventures force them to face themselves and each other. What are they fighting for? And whose war is it anyway?

The show is suitable for all languages and ages.

Produced by: HaHaHa Impro Theatre
Created by: Vasil Bovyanski, Jivko Jouranov, Alexander Mitrev, Ivaylo Rogozinov, after an original idea by Caspar Schjelbred
Director: Caspar Schjelbred
Actors: Vassil Bovyanski, Jivko Jouranov, Alexander Mitrev, Ivaylo Rogozinov
Costume design: Zlatka Vacheva

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The online sale ends 21 hours before the event. Tickets are sold until the start of the event every working day between 9:00 and 21:00 at the Red House desk at 15 L. Karavelov Str., Sofia 1142.

Reservations: You can book a seat at 02/988 8188, 0885 828 532 and by e-mailing [email protected]. Reservations are held up to 15 minutes before the start of the event.

10, 15 April | Tuesday, Sunday | 19:30 | theatre | Red hall | 70 min | Bg | Tickets: 12/ 10 BGN

A play about three great powers in which the two main characters conjure up mind games and thus construct a world in which to experience a whole universe of lives. And to survive not just Life itself, but also Death. In this race with not only themselves, but also with time, this game crystallizes as the most powerful form of living. After Love.

Constellation won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for 2012 for Best Drama. This is the first staging of the play in Bulgaria and the first independent production of the newly established Heliotrope Theatrical Association. The performance is a professional debut for the actors Nevena Nikolova and Vassil Mihailov.

Author: Nick Payne
Translator: Lina Tsvetanova and Vassil Mihailov
Staging: Yordan Slaveykov
Stage design and costumes: Juliana Voykova-Nieman
Music: Kalin Nikolov
Choreographer: Anna Miteva
Starring: Nevena Nikolova, Vassil Mihailov.

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The online sale ends 21 hours before the event. Tickets are sold until the start of the event every working day between 9:00 and 21:00 at the Red House desk at 15 L. Karavelov Str., Sofia 1142.

Reservations: You can book a seat at 02/988 8188, 0885 828 532 and by e-mailing [email protected]. Reservations are held up to 15 minutes before the start of the event.

11 April | Wednesday | 18:30 | Pesha Nikolova | Tickets: 5 BGN

In the programme: sonatas for violin and piano by Mozart, Brahms, Debussy and Prokofiev. Performers: Elena Ganova - violin and Desislava Patruio - piano.

Reservations: you can reserve a seat every working day by calling 02/ 988 8188, 0885 828 532 or e-mailing [email protected]. Reservations are held up to 15 minutes before the event.

The online ticket ale ends 3 days before the event. Tickets are sold until the start of the event every working day between 9:00 and 21:00 at the Red House desk at 15 L. Karavelov Str., Sofia 1142.

17 April | Tuesday |19:00 | screening, discussion | Red hall | in Bulgarian, with English subtitles | Free entrance

Snails

(2017, 25 min, screenplay: Krassimir Krumov – Grez, director: Albena Puneva, starring: Ivan Iurukov, Maria Kavardjikova, Stefan Denoliubov, Nadia Savova. Golden Rose, Varna – Critics' Guild Award of The Union of Bulgarian Film Makers)

Minko, a radio journalist, is in his native village to see his mother. Unexpectedly, the ulcer disease that he has starts to cause him severe pains. On top of that, early in the morning he is awoken by a mosque loudspeaker. Is rage stronger than reason? How do we perceive others and ourselves? Why do we always forget the force that drives us forward?

The screenings are in Bulgarian, with English subtitles. The discussion is in Bulgarian. The entrance is free.

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Reservations: you can reserve a seat every working day by calling 02/ 988 8188, 0885 828 532 or e-mailing [email protected]. Reservations are held up to 15 minutes before the event.

17 April | Tuesday (after the screening and discussion of Snails) | screening, discussion | Red hall | in Bulgarian, with English subtitles | Free entrance

Shame

(2017, 24 min, screenplay and directing: Petar Krumov, starring: Zdravko Moskov, Monika Asparuhova, Emilia Panova. Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2018 – European Film Academy (EFA) nomination for 2018; Sofia International Film Festival 2018, Jameson Award – Special DIploma)

Macho is a poor boy skipping school to work on a construction site. The only ray of light for him is his girlfriend, Donna. Yet, she is ashamed of his mother, who works as a cleaning lady in their school. Macho has to choose between his mother and his love, and he finds his own way out of this situation.

The screenings are in Bulgarian, with English subtitles. The discussion is in Bulgarian. The entrance is free.


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Reservations: you can reserve a seat every working day by calling 02/ 988 8188, 0885 828 532 or e-mailing [email protected]. Reservations are held up to 15 minutes before the event.

24 April | Tuesday | 19:00 | screening, discussion | Red hall | Bg, En subtitles | Free entrance

(2017, 10 min, directed by Radostina Neykova; Zlaten Riton Award, Plovdiv '17 – Advantis Company Award for skillful use of untraditional technologies in animation.)

Hand-embroidered animation. A Man and a Woman spend their days in constant quarrels. One day their House gets tired of listening and leaves.

The screening is in Bulgarian, with English subtitles. The discussion is in Bulgarian.

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Reservations: you can reserve a seat every working day by calling 02/ 988 8188, 0885 828 532 or e-mailing [email protected]. Reservations are held up to 15 minutes before the event.

24 April | Tuesday | after Ugly Fairy Tale | screening, discussion | Bg, En subtitles | Red hall | Free entrance

(2016, Bulgaria / Estonia / Germany, 27 min, directed by Ilina Peryanova; starring: Louisa Grigorova, Nigel Barber and others. Best Film and Best Youth Film at Green Fest 2017, Serbia; Best Comedy at Bare Bones International Independent Film & Music Festival 2017, USA; and more than 10 other festival awards.)

Laura, a beauty obsessed with her weight, is having dinner with her gluttonous and rich lover in a luxury restaurant. But during the ample feast, Laura falls into an unusual world where the singing food engages her in the whirl of a dance that will change her forever.

The screening is in Bulgarian, with English subtitles. The discussion is in Bulgarian.

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Reservations: you can reserve a seat every working day by calling 02/ 988 8188, 0885 828 532 or e-mailing [email protected]. Reservations are held up to 15 minutes before the event.

24 April | Tuesday | after Eat Me! | screening and discussion | Bg, Finnish, En subtitles | Red hall | Free entrance

(2013, 25 min, directed by Vilma Kartalska and Radko Savov; starring Militsa Gladnishka, Juha Hippi, Vilma Kartalska, Miska Kajnus, and others. Best actress award at Lecce Film Fest 2014, Italy, best short movie award at Meliorist Film Festival, 2016, India; and 9 other festival awards.)

A merry bulgarian woman and a shy Finnish guy are "accidentally" hit by Cupid's arrow, but in no time this turns into fuel for the fire under the boiling pot of problems between East and West. Soon accusations and wedding rings are sent flying in the air in this funny story of love, cultural differences and a Janne.

The screening is in Bulgarian and Finnish, with English subtitles. The discussion is in Bulgarian.

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Reservations: you can reserve a seat every working day by calling 02/ 988 8188, 0885 828 532 or e-mailing [email protected]. Reservations are held up to 15 minutes before the event.

18 April – exhibition opening at 18:30
19 – 30 April – the exhibition will be open from 10:00 to 21:00 | Nameless, Gulliver halls

We found out that 147 volunteers were willing to help during our Presidency of the Council of the EU, which is why we present 147 caricatures. Each author has voluntarily given their work to be exhibited. Every work shows the different opinion of its creator and his/her perspective on the problems, but also his/her inner world with yin and yang – like 'like' culture and hate speech. There are total nihilists, of course. But the caravan goes on...

20 April | Friday | 19:00 | public debate Bg | Red hall | Free entrance

Context: In 2016, the European Commission declared itself in favor of shared economy. It advised Member States not to forbid or impede it with over-regulation. "The next economic miracle in Europe can be born in the context of shared economy. Our role is to encourage a regulation model that allows for the development of new business models while at the same time protecting consumers and guaranteeing fair taxation and working conditions," said Commission Vice-President Katainen. In 2017, however, the European Court of Justice ruled that Uber's car-reservation service is in the transport sector and, therefore, EU countries can regulate the conditions for its provision.The Court has stated that, as follows from EU legislation, Member States have to regulate the conditions under which such services are provided, in accordance with the general rules of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. Shared economy was thus once again put at a crossroads. On 20 April, the experts and debaters will present the key arguments for and against the development of shared economy in the European Union.

About the project
The debate is organized by the Bulgarian Debate Association as part of the project "Argument Europe", which is realized with the financial support of Sofia Municipality and in partnership with The Red House Centre for Culture and Debate "Andrey Nikolov".

About the Bulgarian Debate Association
The Bulgarian Debate Association is a non-governmental organization working for the development and popularization of debates among young people in Bulgaria. Its activity reaches more than 700 young people each year who participate in training and in national and international debates. For more information: http://www.debate.bg/

21 –22 April | Saturday, Sunday | 11:00 – 16:00 | a workshop with Mark Tompkins | Red hall | Entrance: by invitation only, following an application process

When improvising, each performer is working simultaneously on many different levels of perception: listening, watching, sensing, acting, reacting to one's self and one's partners. The art of real time composition resides in each performer's ability to remain open to the wealth of internal and external impulses and to receive, process and propose material in an uninterrupted flow of feedback. How do we avoid overload, stay actively attentive, do nothing and still act? These questions are addressed through a series of improvisational games and scores that explore and develop the sensations and perceptions of touch, vision, hearing, weight. To sharpen our inner and outer concentration, we explore the notions of shifting, letting go, simultaneous time, active/passive, centre/support and the roles of performer, witness and spectator.

Mark Tompkins is an American dancer, choreographer, singer and teacher. Tompkins moved to France in 1973 and discovered dance with Harry Sheppard. In 1975, he made his first solos and worked with contact improvisation icons Steve Paxton and Lisa Nelson. In 1983, he founded the Company I.D.A. Solos, group pieces, concerts and improvised performances are steps of his journey into the performance world initiated in the 70's taken with the complicity of set and costume designer Jean-Louis Badet since 1988. Fascinated by the frictions and resonances between high and low entertainment, his performances are often inspired by popular forms like cabaret, music-hall, musicals and burlesque. His manner of fabricating unidentified performance objects, mixing dance, music, song, text and video has become his signature. At the same time, his passion for real time composition has led him to collaborate with various dancers. Renowned for his teaching, he travels around the world. In 2008, he received the SACD Choreography Prize for all his work (Society of Dramatic Authors Composers).

More about the Teachback/Without Distance Platform
The platform is organized with Antistatic and is part of the Life Long Burning project organized by Lokomotiva and Nomad Dance Academy, Bulgaria, as representatives of the Nomad Dance Academy Network, with the support of the Culture Programme of the European Union, the Culture Programme of Sofia Municipality, 2018, the Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria, Goethe-Institut Bulgarien, The Red House Centre for Culture and Debate and Structure Gallery.

27 April | Friday | 18:30 | dance performance | 45 min |Red hall | Tickets: 8 BGN

Mainstream deals with the almost invisible, subconscious obsession of man with the inertia in which life falls. Where is the totality of our existence, where is our true, unaltered nature? Sometimes it appears for a moment, only to disappear again...

In her debut as a choreographer, Marion Darova combines theatrical expressivity and contemporary dance techniques. Actors Boris Georgiev and Hristo Ushev, together with dancer Ina Georgieva, grotesquely recreate, using grimaces, gestures and dance, some clichés imposed by contemporary mainstream culture as a pattern оf behaviour. The performance was first shown at Trizavisim 2016, the platform stimulating the creation of contemporary dance productions, an initiative of the Guild of Contemporary Performing Arts at the Union of Bulgarian Actors and A25 Culture Foundation.

Marion Darova has graduated in Philosophy from Sofia University. A couple of years later she studied stage directing at the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts. In 2015, she completed Derida Dance Center's one-year educational programme Dance Port Derida. During her studies, she worked with choreographers such as Norman Douglas (UK) and Sidra Bell (USA). Marion Darova has performed in Derida Dance Center's and Derida Company's productions "Silent Weapon" (nominated for the IKAR 2015 award), "Zen play", "Sinner" (IKAR 2017 award). Her debut performance "Mainstream" participated in the 2017 Water Festival of Contemporary Art in Burgas. Her most recent choreography work, "Trauma" (2017), features some participants in the 2016 Dance Port Derida programme. In both performances she partners with the famous composer of electronic music Ivan Shopov who authored the sound design.

Concept and choreography: Marion Durova
Music: Ivan Shopov COOH / BALKANSKY and Alexandar Evtimov-Shamancheto
Visual environment: Polina Stoyanova
Cast: Boris Georgiev, Hristo Ushev, Ina Gerginova
Photography: Paraplet

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The online ticket sale ends 21 hours before the event. Tickets are sold until the start of the event every working day between 9:00 and 21:00 at the Red House desk at 15 L. Karavelov Str., Sofia 1142.

Reservations: You can book a seat at 02/988 8188, 0885 828 532 and by e-mailing [email protected]. Reservations are held up to 15 minutes before the start of the event.

28 April | Saturday | 11:00 – 14:00 | performative discussion | in English | Red hall | Free entrance

Following their extensive experience in organizing art festivals in various conditions and reflecting upon it, Biljana Tanurovska-Kjulavkovski and Ivana Vaseva have developed a playful way to explore and discuss festivals' function and structure. They try to ponder and speculate on festivals as a field of formulating new working protocols, relations and bonds, new concepts, new economy and economic relations.

Participants of the Sofia edition of the format will be local festival directors in different art fields. In a public performance/game they will have to propose different approaches in organizing a festival with 1 000 Euros and with 1 000 000 Euros. Their proposals will be discussed by active art critics. Thus the performance/game will scrutinize different points of view on festivals as cultural phenomenon. They will be reflected as a space where new social capital can be created as well as public cultural values. At the end, the audience will vote for "the best festival". The format has been successfully presented at forums such as ImpulsTanz Festival – Vienna, Co-Festival Ljubljana, the first biennale for contemporary dance of East Europe in Bucharest 2016 a.o.

Biljana Tanurovska-Kjulavkovski is a cultural worker operating in the field of contemporary arts. She is a co-founder of Lokomotiva – Center for New Initiatives in the Arts and Culture in Skopje, of Nomad Dance Academy network as well as of Kino Kultura – venue for independent culture. There she curates PLATFORM(a) – Festival for contemporary performing arts in Skopje. She gives lectures and workshops in project management, strategic development, performing arts management, cultural policy and models of regional collaboration.

Ivana Vaseva is a freelance curator and art historian. She works in the field of visual arts.

More about the Teachback/Without Distance Platform
The platform is organized with Antistatic and is part of the Life Long Burning project organized by Lokomotiva and Nomad Dance Academy, Bulgaria, as representatives of the Nomad Dance Academy Network, with the support of the Culture Programme of the European Union, the Culture Programme of Sofia Municipality, 2018, the Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria, Goethe-Institut Bulgarien, The Red House Centre for Culture and Debate and Structure Gallery.

Reservations: You can book a seat at 02/988 8188, 0885 828 532, and by e-mailing [email protected]. Reservations are valid up to 15 minutes before the start of the event.

30 April|Monday |16:00|informal meeting | in Bulgarian | Red hall | Free entrance

Before the performance Impossibility in Its Purest Form by Atom Theatre, which starts at 17:00, you will be able to meet the artists and talk to them.

30 April | Monday | 17:00 | fragments in motion | 40 min | Red hall | Tickets: 8 BGN

"Impossibility in its purest form | Fragments in Motion" examines impossibility as a form of hope, striving, desire and, at the same time, as weakness, vulnerability, destructiveness, impotence, unfeasibility. Fragments exist in timelessness, in an incessant feeling of déjà-vu. Dancers' bodies are joined in structures, look for identity, build up perspectives and paint the space.

No shuttering! Where am I? When am I? In whom am I? Why am I? Are. Be. You are… Watch! Don't sleep. Die. Pose. Spill out! Curse! Unlock! Engender!! Create yourself – fit for swallowing… Requisite.

Stefaniya Georgieva is a Sofia-based dancer and choreographer. In 2011, she graduated in Puppet Theatre from the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts; with a group of actors she created Atom Theatre and has since worked in the area of contemporary dance. She has co-organized projects such as ATOM Choreography Series#1 and 2, 451 and 243 square meters Independent and has participated in the making of several creative spaces for independent artists in Sofia. Her work as a choreographer includes six dance pieces presented at stages, spaces and festivals in Bulgaria and abroad. She actively works with Jung In Lee from South Korea with whom she has realized a number of international projects. She participates in artist residences and training sessions and teaches dance whenever she has time to do so. In 2017, she led a class at Guildford School of Acting: GSA, UK and Vitruvian Thing in Thessaloniki. She gets inspiration from motion as design in space, collective organism as experience and site-specific body as approach.

Choreographer: Stefaniya Georgieva
Composer: Dobromir Kisyov and Konstantin Kuchev
Contrabass: Dobromir Kisyov
Movement: Kalina Georgieva and Stefaniya Georgieva
Video and Photographer: Ivan-Alexander Ivanov
Duration: 40 min

22 April | Sunday | 12:00 | lecture and debate | bg | Burgas | Free entrance

In June 2017, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Commission to thoroughly analyze the current situation and legal framework on fake news and examine the possibility of legislative intervention to limit the distribution of fake content. The Commission has confirmed that this is its priority and has included the initiative for fighting fake news initiative in its 2018 work programme.

Meanwhile, Germany has passed a law under which social networks will be penalized if they do not remove content like fake news or hate speech in time. Germany has thus begun legislative action by declaring that the responsibility for spreading fake news rests entirely on online platforms. According to the law, social networks will have a total of 24 hours to erase and block acute criminal content and seven days for lighter cases and will have to report all cases to the government. If this does not happen, the companies may be fined up to 50 million euros and the directors of the companies in Germany – up to 5 million euros.

Should the European Commission adopt the German model and look for accountability for the spread of fake news in social networks primarily? Students from The Burgas Debate Club will try to find answer this question in an argumented debate.

Programme

12:00 – 12:15 | Theodor Stoychev, Head of the European Parliament Information Office in Bulgaria | Positions of the European Parliament on the Fight Against Fake News

12:15 – 12:30 | Konstantin Pavlov-Komitata: Fake News – The Possible Answers on a European Level?

12:30 – 13:30 | Student debate

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More about the project
TEDEP (Trans-European Debates on the European Parliament) is a Red House project in partnership with the Bulgarian Debate Association, the European Time to Talk debate network, the Belgian debating organization Deburen and the Serbian Centre for Cultural Decontamination. Important EU topics will be debated in a variety of contexts within the project, whic include a variety of perspectives - from regional youth debates to national and trans-European ones. The project is implemented with the support of the European Parliament (EP). The EP is not responsible for the theses, comments and opinions expressed during the events.

debate with the participation of Juliette Minces, political sociologist and writer, and Tatiana Dronzina, professor, Ph.D. in Political Science

23 April | Monday | 18:00 | in French, with a translation in Bulgarian | Free entrance

Prof. Tatyana Dronzina is a lecturer at the Department of Political Science at Sofia University and at the Institute for Peace and Conflict, University of Granada, Spain. The last four years before returning to Sofia (in 2015) she lived and worked in Central Asia where she also conducted fieldwork on terrorism and extremism. She was a consultant during the preparation of the State Programme for Combating Terrorism and Extremism in Kazakhstan and a current member of the Society for the Study of Terrorism. Many of her books are devoted to this form of political violence. These include Women's Suicidal Terrorism and Women in the Islamic State published by the publishing house Sveti Georgi Pobedonosets.

Juliette Minces is a French political sociologist and writer. A traveler, feminist, and political fighter for secularization, her childhood during the war has defined a large part of her activities and beliefs. She publishes articles in numerous magazines and newspapers (Les Temps Modernes, Le Monde Diplomatique, Esprit (Revue), Hommes et Migrations...) The main topics in her publications are immigration, the children of immigrants and women in Islam.

24 April | Tuesday | 19:00 | Pesha Nikolova | Tickets: 10 BGN

А meeting between two musical individualities in search of a common field for creative expression and musical improvisation. The art of the moment, the situation, the impression and the unexpected; joy of the shared musical communication. A combination of cultures, impressions, ideas, inspirations. A search for the unknown and the new...

Performers: Jivko Bratanov – piano; Georgi Angelov – percussion.

Reservations: You can reserve a seat every working day by calling 02/ 988 8188, 0885 828 532 or e-mailing [email protected]. Reservations are held up to 15 minutes before the event.