Classe Libre

Dear Patrick,

It was a wonderful weekend. The incredible team you had formed was permanently available, truly kind and discreetly efficient. I discovered a city that was beyond my expectations and that aroused my curiosity to get to know it better. “Working” with both of the Charles was a real pleasure and the large and faithful audience was visibly interested in what we told them, and most importantly, showed them. I was very happy that we took the time to talk to each other and revive our work relations as well as our friendship. I want to thank you for your welcome and for what you have done for this city, what seems to me to be the work of real political culture, in other words real politics.

Kindest regards

Alain Bergala
Senior lecturer at the Sorbonne, filmmaker, writer, critic, exhibition organizer


Dear Patrick In Catherine M.’s and my name, I want to apologize for my belated thanks for your cordial welcome in Sofia. We’ll keep these three days in excellent memory. Hope to see you soon in Paris, together with our comrade Païni? Kindest regards Jacques Henric Critic (Art press), French essay writer and novelist

Dear Patrick,

Since my stay in Sofia was too brief to create a quasi-exhaustive photo archive of the city, I send you herewith – while thanking you once more again for your invitation – one of the most relevant photos taken during my trip to the Bulgarian capital. Should you be interested in using it as a poster to the glory of Sofilm, I’ll be happy to offer you the copyrights for the reproduction. But above all (and I’m serious), I want to repeat my word of thanks for these two passionate and amazing days…

Kindest regards

Charles L. Bitsch
Cinema critic, photo director and filmmaker

Dear Patrick

I want to thank you once more again for the beautiful event Free Class, ARTE. I took great interest in it and hope that we were able to do some useful work for the Bulgarian professionals you had gathered together.

The organization was perfect, your commitment impressive and your welcome outstanding.

I allow myself to imagine that Mosco, Serge and François were also where happy with their participation in this event.

I’ll keep you informed about the eventual development of our relations with the BNT and Bulgaria in general.

Gratefully yours,

André Demargerie
Director of International Relations, ARTE, France

Dear Sir,

I want to thank you for suggesting that we participate in your event in Sofia. As far as the cinema sector is concerned, I can highly recommend you to Mr. Patrick Sandrin, an independent producer who has been living in Sofia for many years where he periodically organizes “Free Classes”. Each session, and all of them attract a large audience, treats a different topic, offering French and Bulgarian professionals the opportunity of exchange. These sessions are exceptionally well conducted. Considering that these “Free Classes” organized by Mr. Sandrin are largely sufficient to satisfy the cinema fans in Sofia, the IFS does not - for the time being – conceive the necessity to multiply events in the fields of cinema. My best wishes to you.
Yours faithfully,

Yves-Jaques Cabasso
Vice Director of the French Cultural Center in Sofia

National Centre of Cinema and Animated Pictures

Sir,

With utmost pleasure I have noticed your name among the personalities to be made a Knight in the Orders of Art and Literature.

On account of your competence as a producer in France as well as in Bulgaria, you fully deserve this honour. Thanks to your work, French cinema has become well-known in Bulgaria where you have succeeded in revitalizing the film industry.

Please accept my highest regards.

Veronique Cayla
General Director of the CNC

Ministry of National Bulgarian Education

Sir,

I have the honour to congratulate you on the occasion of your nomination to the grade of Knight in the Orders of Art and Literature.

I am particularly touched by the recognition of your work and the efforts you made for the revival of the Bulgarian film industry. I am persuaded that throughout all these years your mission in my country goes beyond the world of art and touches the enthusiasm of Bulgarian creators and intellectuals on their road towards liberty, enlightenment and democracy.

I thank you for being a real friend to Bulgaria. I wish you good riddance for your future professional activities.

Daniel Valtchev
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Sciences

NATFIZ, School of Cinema and Theatre

Dear Mister Sandrin,

I choose this opportunity to express my thanks and respect on behalf of the Direction of the National Academy for Cinematographic Art, Krastyo Sarafov, and want to congratulate you on the excellent organization of the conference Free Class that was held in the room Utcheben dramatitchen Teatre at the NATFIZ on April 19 and 20, 2008. You made it possible that internationally renowned French lecturers had come to participate in the forum: Dominique Païni, the former Director of the Pompidou Centre and the French Film Archives, now lecturer at the Ecole supérieure du Louvre; the famous writers Catherine Millet and Jacques Henric, as well as representatives of Art Press, the international magazine of culture and modern art. Their lectures and debates about the theme “metamorphosis in cinema”, well illustrated thanks to the projection of film extracts, have enriched our knowledge and aroused great interest among our students and the large public audience of our city.

These Free Classes under your conduct build a cultural bridge between different countries and offered us once more again the opportunity to learn as much about the masterpieces of renowned international filmmakers of which you showed us an excellent choice, as about foreign film culture seldom represented in Bulgaria.

We are highly satisfied with the contents of the media campaign and the great feedback this forum had received in the major media. It has considerably contributed to the fact that the public of our city learned about this event, organized with the collaboration of the National Academy of Cinematographic Art, Krastyo Sarafov.

We hope that the collaboration between the NATFIZ and the cinema forum Free Class will have future projects that are likely to promote the exchange between the Cinema schools of both countries.

With our country’s entry to the EU, this collaboration presents an excellent opportunity for us to open ourselves to the diversity of other cultures and inspire our own creators to new perspectives.

I wish your French-Bulgarian team whose organization of the forum FREE CLASS Paris/Sofia was a great success my best wishes for the future.

Best luck,

Prof. Stanislav Semerdjiev
Chief Education Officer of the NATFIZ
School of Cinema and Theatre

ARTE Radio

Dear Patrick,

I am still in the clouds after this Open class. We discussed with Daniel Deshays how we have visited seminars and festivals, in faculties and master programs, but we have never been welcomed so well: competence, high level audience, good technical equipment, informal politeness.

I am sorry that we had to leave quickly, without being able to thank the translators, who translated exceptionally accurately in harsh conditions (many words, little space). Please, send them my admiration and gratitude.You have been a wonderful organizer and an excellent host. I admire what you do in Bulgaria through the open classes and Sofilm….We sometimes participate in workshops, different formations and ateliers, related to montage means – sounds, montage, mixing.
My young team and I will be happy if we have the opportunity to transfer your experience and specific sound in Bulgaria.
I once again thank you for the royal welcoming, without forgetting the good work of our Moderator Francois, congratulate your whole team on my behalf!

Cordial greetings,
Silvain Gire
Program director ARTE Radio