Emil Spahiysky
Emil Spahiyski is a publisher, journalist, screenwriter and cinema director with extensive experience in print media, television and cinema. He is CEO of National publishing house for education and science "Az-buki", which publishes nine scientific journals that are indexed in global database organizations, as well as publishes a national weekly for education. He has worked in the print media from a reporter and political observer to an executive director of a several news media groups, as well as a publisher and owner of Internet media. As a reporter, he has covered a wide range of topics, including politics, war, international relatiosns. He covered the war in Kosovo, was a correspondent in the Caucasus. He has experience in photography, as well. He has worked as a screenwriter for feature films and television series, as a screenwriter and field editor in reality formats, producer of television shows. He has received awards in all fields for his work.
Personal data:
Born on May 20, 1967 in the town of Kresna, Blagoevgrad region.
EDUCATION
Secondary school High school with French language teaching, Vratsa, 1986
Higher education
2012-2014 Master degree in "Cinema and Television Directing", Southwestern University, Blagoevgrad.
1992-1997 Master of Journalism, Sofia University "St. Clement Ohridski”
1986-1990 Master degree in Turkology; Military University "Vassil Levski", Veliko Tarnovo.
Specializations:
September 2005 - June 2006 – NATFA (National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts "Krastyo Sarafov"), one-year specialization in drama and screenwriting, supervisor - Prof. Stanislav Semerdzhiev;
June-August 2005 - Moscow School of Political Science;
March 2000 - June 2000 - European University for peace and conflict studies, Austria.
2020-2021 One-year screenwriting program of the Mediterranean Film Institute (www.mfi.gr), with the project "The Citizen Who Stole the Watch of Comrade Brezhnev"
2014 - 2015 One-year screenwriting program of the Mediterranean Film Institute (www.mfi.gr), with the project "John is going to Mecca" (directed by Poli Gencheva)
2013 - One-year screenwriting program Scripteast (scripteast.pl), with the project "Club of Young Friends of the USSR" (producer and director Stefan Komandarev).
1999 - Course in military journalism in Garmisch-Partenkirchen;
1997 - Course in investigative journalism at the British Association for Central and Eastern Europe, London.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AS A JOURNALIST IN PRINT MEDIA
PRINT MEDIA
June 2022 – present – CEO of National publishing house for education and science "Az-buki";
October 2021 – June 2022 – Content and Business Development Manager, “Telegraph” LTD (The Telegraph Daily, Mach Telegraph Daily, Telegraph online);
November 2018 - January 2020 - Correspondent of the newspaper "Trud" in Georgia, with coverage of other Caucasian countries.
May 2012 - 2021 Political Observer, “Trud” newspaper
Aug 2008 - May 2012 Executive Director, SEGA DAILY newspaper
May 1997 - May 2012 Journalist and commentator, SEGA DAILY newspaper
Sept. 2006 - June 2007 Editor-in-Chief of FHM Magazine
May 2006 - Sept. 2006 Editor-in-Chief of “Golf & Spa” magazine
March 2004 - June 2005 Editor-in-Chief of “Egoist” Magazine
March 2001 - Dec. 2003 Editor-in-Chief of “About Me” Magazine
February 1998 - June 1998 News Editor, “Sofia Independent”
Aug 1994 - Aug. 1997 Reporter, “24 Chasa” newspaper
January 1993 - Aug. 1994 Contributor to “Trud” newspaper
EXPERIENCE IN TELEVISION
AS A SCRIPTWRITER, FIELD PRODUCER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
"More citizens in Sofia" (Столичани в повече) - screenwriter, season 1 and 2. Producer "Dream Team", bTV.
"Africa: The stars must be crazy," Еditor-in-chief. Producer of "Paprika", bTV;
Survivor "Cambodia", Cambodia, 2014 - field editor, screenwriter, post-production editor;
Survivor "Pearl Islands", Panama, 2008 - field editor, screenwriter, producer of "Dream Team", bTV;
Survivor "Expedition Robinson", Dominican Republic, 2007 - screenwriter, field editor, producer "Dream Team", bTV;
Others: Metropolis (Nova TV), editor-in-chief (3 episodes).
"Bulgarian Christmas 2012" - screenwriter;
Producer of the show "Media on Air" on the national television "Bulgaria on Air" 2015-2017, author and presenter Donika Rizova.
„Power Couple“ 2020 – Filed Producer, Nova TV
EXPERIENCE IN CINEMA
DOCUMENTARY
"Icarus of Kocherinovo" (2019) - director and screenwriter Emil Spahiyski, producer Katya Trichkova - "Contrast Film", supported for production by NFC. The film received the award for director's debut at the “Golden Rhyton” Film Festival 2019, selected at four other international festivals Near to Nazareth Film Festival, Kino Duels, Master of Arts.
"Grieve only as a last resort" (2019 -) (post-production) - short documentary - producer and director, screenwriters Maria Toneva, Emil Spahiyski;
"Here I am. Again" (2021) - co-writer, Associated producer. A film that traces the path of Boyan Petrov from the accident in the Kresna Gorge in 2016 to his disappearance in the Himalayas on his way to Shisha Pangma (8013 m) and the attempts to find and save him. Producer and director Polly Gencheva.
"Call me Nadezhda" (2016) - screenwriter, producer Katya Trichkov - "Contrast Film", supported for development by NFC.
The First (2015) - a film about the first presidential family in Bulgaria - Maria and Zhelyu Zhelevi (BNT), producer and director Joro Tornev. Author of the interviews - Emil Spahiyski, Mira Dobreva.
FEATURE CINEMA
“Where is Liza Going”, associated producer, feature movie, Georgia/Bulgaria, Director, writer - Nana Janelidza
"The Day She Will Be Born" (2021) (short), director and screenwriter, presented at the "In the Palace" festival, Filmer Forge.
“Brezhnev's Clock” (2014) - author, screenwriter, in preparation. Producer of "Tristan Film", supported for script development, NFC; presented at the picking session of "Golden Rose" 2015, Selected by the Mediterranean Film Institute in the development program (MFI) Script2Film workshops (2020); presented at the Connecting Cottbus 2020 festival
“The Judgment” (2015) - co-author of the script. Producer and director Stefan Komandarev; screenwriters: Marin Damyanov, Emil Spahiyski, Stefan Komandarev. The film won the Golden Rose for Best Feature Film and Best Leading Actor (Asen Blatechki); Grand prix at the Indianapolis Film Festival, the Bulgarian entry for the American Film Awards, selected in dozens of other festivals.
"Club Young Friends Club of the Soviet Union" (2015), in preparation - author, screenwriter. Producer Stefan Komandarev. Selected for the seventh edition of ScriptEast, Poland;
"John is Going to Mecca" - author, screenwriter. Producer of "Tara Three Pictures", supported for script development, NFC, 2013. Selected by the Mediterranean Film Institute in the development program (MFI) Script2Film workshops, presented at the picking session of the "Golden Rose" 2015;
“I Dreamed of Europe” (2010) - author, screenwriter. Producer of Tristan Film, Stanimir Trifonov; supported for NFC scenario development;
AWARDS
AND PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS IN JOURNALISM
1. Award for journalism - "Chernorizets Hrabar", Union of Bulgarian Publishers, 2006.
2. Award for reportage - "Panitsa", 2000, for coverage of the war in Kosovo and Macedonia.
AWARDS
AND PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS IN CINEMA
Director's Debut Award, Golden Rhyton, 2019 for the film “Icarus of Kocherinovo”;
Award for screenplay of the Bulgarian Film Academy (shared with Assoc. Prof. Marin Damyanov and Stefan Komandarev) for the film "The Court", 2015
BOOKS
"22 - the model of success. Or how to succeed in Bulgaria "- co-author. Authors:
Georgi Staykov, Anatoli Georgiev, Emil Spahiyski.
