Weekly Questions Bulgarian Media Integrity in Michelle Bonev Case

The Bulgarian Ministry of Culture must reveal the names of the 40 individuals who traveled to Venice for the controversial award received by Bulgarian-Italian actress-director Michelle Bonev, requested weekly paper Kultura.

Kultura - Bulgaria's premier paper for culture and arts - in particular questioned the behavior of other Bulgarian media on the case, reminding that the scandal around Bonev's film and award broke only after publications in the Italian media.

Kultura also recalls flattering materials that appeared in the Bulgarian press immediately after culture minister Vezhdi Rashidov's visit to Venice, and asks whether representatives of media were among those who traveled to Venice for free, sponsored by the Italian or Bulgarian goverment, or Bonev's own "Romantica Entertainment" company.

"The Bulgarian public needs to know whether envoys of central media participated in this movie-picnic, and precisely who did. Thus people will learn why for two days in a row newspapers flooded us with sappy texts about red carpets, Bonev, Vezhdi and Catherine Deneuve," writes the Kultura material.

It goes on to ask for the "immediate" resignation of Minister of Culture Vezhdi Rashidov.

As a matter of fact, September 17 Kultura published a report on Bonev's award in Venice (in Bulgarian) under the title "Mockery and Shame for the Bulgarian Cinema." The material questioned Bonev's credentials, the quality of her film "Goodbye Mamma," and the consistent support she has received from Italian state television RAI.

An editorial note was appended to the September Kultura article in which an explanation was asked for the presence of a 40-strong Bulgarian delegation to the Venice festival on the occasion of Bonev's award.

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