"It's a campaign we've called 'If Bulgaria Were Told To Me' - a play on words and a subtle wink at French filmmaker Sacha Guitry's 1954 film If Versailles Were Told To Me ('Si Versailles m'étais conté.') Perhaps I should briefly explain to your listeners that the Cinémathèque des documentaires de la Bibliothèque Publique (Bpi) is a cultural institution located in the Centre Pompidou itself in France, a large public library specialising in cinema, with a huge collection of films, books, magazines, all kinds of resources. Its general aim is to make cinema accessible, to bring it closer to the general public and to promote it as a form of cultural expression. So our partnership with this institution is a real pleasure for me.

Desislava Bineva is pleased to note that the initiative also involves a third partner - Forum des images, a key institution for cinema culture in France, founded in 1988.

"This is a cultural centre in Paris dedicated entirely to cinema and the visual arts. It is in the heart of the city".

The director of the Bulgarian Cultural Institute admits that the eight titles featured in the campaign cannot claim to be exhaustive, but they do offer an insight into contemporary Bulgarian documentary cinema.

It tells stories and constructs narratives that are snapshots of today's reality in our country, Bineva says. These are stories that allow you to step into someone else's shoes, to see through their eyes and in some way feel empathy and connection with what is happening in a country or with characters that become more familiar and therefore closer to you.

"We want to tell the story of Bulgaria in such a way that those who are less familiar with it can really experience its essence. Desislava Bineva is convinced that cultural diplomacy is field work without working hours and without a mandate.

Not surprisingly, over the past six years of Bineva's leadership of BCI-Paris, most of the events have attracted international audiences eager to learn more about Bulgaria and Bulgarians.

"The film series in the new initiative will offer a variety of stories, says Ms Bineva - from social, historical and political issues to personal narratives, portraits of individuals and even visions of entire communities - with the aim of immersing viewers in our reality beyond the cliché of Bulgarian "yoghurt". They will present a very vivid picture of our country, sometimes contradictory, but relevant".