Rarely does one have a chance to experience a cinema festival without a strictly fixed programme, but cinema lovers in Bulgaria have such an opportunity now. An interesting selection of films on thought-provoking themes, an unusual choice of location and an opportunity of absolute freedom of the audience to become directors and decide on their desired programme is what distinguishes the environmental cinema festival "Enter the Green Film" from other cultural events.

The eco-film festival is pencilled in for July 11-13 at Bratya Miladinovi community centre in the Sofia neighbourhood of Knyazhevo. It is a continuation of previous film festivals in Sofia, Blagoevgrad, Veliko Turnovo, and Stara Zagora, which were orginsed by Za Zemyata (For the Earth) environmental association.

Its co-organisers for the event are the youth programme of the directorate-general for education and culture of the European Commission, Bratya Miladinovi community centre and Knyazhevo neighbourhood. The artistic realisation of the event is the graduation project of New Bulgarian University students and scenographers Zdravka Kantareva and Zlatna Mihailova.

A curious peculiarity of the environmental film festival in Knyazhevo is the choice of location. "The festival will be held in cinema halls that have not been used for 20 years," organiser Vanya Boneva said. The organisers plan to transform the abandoned theatre and cinema halls, together with their premises, several smaller rooms and a garden, into a site-specific multimedia installation.

The replacement of ordinary cinema tickets with a special card, which will enable visitors to attend all film halls and screenings and will be given to them at the entrance of Bratya Miladinovi community centre, furthers the uncommonness of the event.

"The spectators will take on a specific route through the film halls, which means that the screening place of each film is consistent with its main idea in order to achieve a certain impact on the audience," organiser Genika Baicheva said.

"The films are shown simultaneously. It is possible that only one or two people can watch one and the same film at a particular moment, because the screening of it in a confined space serves to enhance the audience's experience," Boneva adds.

According to the organisers, visitors will have the chance to direct their own film screning by entering whichever cinema hall they wish to at any time and concentrating on what satisfies their individual interest. In this way, they will be able to control their own emotional response to the environmental issues addressed in the films' message.

The projection of films intended for a limited number of viewers will be succeeded by screenings for larger audiences in the Great Hall.

The films screened at the festival will put forward environmental issues related to the social and environmental consequences of economic globalisation on a national and international level, such as food and environmentally clean agriculture, exploitation of resources, waste management, energy and fuels, transport, environmental activism, and biodiversity rescue.

Among the films screened in the festival will be The Story of Stuff with Annie Lenoard, imitating a classroom lesson on environment, the Russian production The Black Tears of Sahalin, which tell of the environmental consequences of the expansion of petrol drilling in one of the most seismically active regions in the world, and Wal-Mart, the story of a supermarket's ways of setting unbeatable low prices due to cheap production achieved by exploitation of resources and labour. The rest of the programme includes Luna and the Giant Tree Sit, Fields of Demeter, Timber Gap, and the Indian production Mother Earth.

"There will be a special spot for children in the garden, where cartoons on environmental themes will be projected with an educational purpose," Baicheva said. "Specially appointed advisors will entertain the children with various activities," she added.

On the last night of the festival, July 13, the audience will be given an opportunity to participate in discussions on the environmental issues raised in the films and to communicate their impressions and opinions in the form of a painting or in writing.