Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts

About Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts

NATFA developed from a theatre school established in 1948 and became the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts by a National Assembly decision in 1995. It remains an independent higher-education academy rather than a department within a larger university. Bulgaria’s national accreditation agency records accreditation dated 12 February 2026 for the professional field of Theatre and Film Arts, with accreditation continuing until the next scheduled evaluation. The academy’s structure reflects the collaborative nature of performance and screen production. Its Stage Arts Faculty includes departments concerned with drama theatre, puppet theatre, stage speech, theatre studies, and stage movement. The Screen Arts Faculty covers areas such as directing and animation, cinematography and photography, and film studies and dramaturgy. This focused structure is likely to suit students who already want intensive preparation for creative and production work rather than a broad general university curriculum. NATFA’s main address is 108A G. S. Rakovski Street in central Sofia, with additional nearby buildings used by the academy. Its facilities include a drama training theatre, smaller stages, a puppet training theatre, an audiovisual complex, cinema and video halls, studios, workshops, dance rooms, an academic library, and an archive. A Burgas branch, opened for teaching in 2025, adds selected bachelor’s provision. Applicants must check the location attached to each specialty because Sofia and Burgas offerings are not interchangeable.

Admission is competitive and organized by specialty. NATFA describes its entrance examinations as designed to assess talent, cultural awareness, artistic judgment, motivation, and relevant physical or psychological qualities. Bachelor’s examinations may have two or three rounds, while master’s examinations generally have two. Assessment formats vary and can include practical performances, portfolios, written work, oral interviews, theoretical tasks, or anonymous examinations. Applicants may apply to two programs, but they must follow the preparation and examination rules for each one. For the main 2026/27 campaign, Bulgarian applicants submitted documents online from 15 to 20 June 2026. As of 20 August 2026, NATFA had also announced an additional intake for four programs, with online applications from 26 to 28 August and examinations on 1 and 2 September 2026. The additional Burgas intake covers Drama Theatre Acting and Dance and Performance; the Sofia intake covers Theatre Studies and Theatre Management at bachelor’s level and Theatre Art and Dramaturgy at master’s level. Results are scheduled for 3 September 2026. International procedures depend on legal and citizenship status. Fee-paying foreign applicants are asked for an application, curriculum vitae, legalized and translated educational credentials, evidence that the credential permits higher study in its country of issue, and a recently issued legalized medical certificate. The academy’s international page gives 1 September as the annual submission deadline, but international candidates should obtain written confirmation for their intended 2026/27 program, its language, visa timing, and any program-specific audition or portfolio requirements before applying.

Bachelor’s study spans performance, directing, design, criticism, writing, production, and technical screen disciplines. The academy’s current listings include drama and puppet theatre acting, drama directing, scenography, theatre studies and management, film and television directing, cinematography, editing, sound, producing, design, journalism, dramaturgy, photography, and animation. The Burgas branch separately lists Drama Theatre Acting, Dance and Performance, and Animation and Film Design. Program availability and location should be checked against the 2026/27 admissions site because not every course is delivered at both campuses. Master’s provision is more specialized and project-oriented. Published examples include Screenwriting, Screen Directing, Directing in Puppet Theatre Practices, Educational and Therapeutic Puppet Theatre, and Stage Arts Directing. The Screenwriting and Screen Directing programs are described as one-year, full-time courses in which students develop substantial creative packages. Admissions commonly include a portfolio or creative autobiography followed by an interview or another specialist assessment. Teaching emphasizes practice alongside cultural, critical, and theoretical preparation. Depending on the discipline, graduation may involve a performance, film, screenplay, design portfolio, production package, or public defense rather than examinations alone. NATFA also supports doctoral education, and its 2026/27 fee schedule explicitly includes doctoral students. Prospective doctoral candidates should consult the separate doctoral-admission materials for currently open subjects, supervisors, and competition dates. The academy participates in Erasmus+, using ECTS for recognized exchange study, although the exchange course list is narrower than the complete degree catalogue.

Key Highlights

• Accredited in Theatre and Film Arts by Bulgaria’s national accreditation agency in February 2026
• Independent specialist academy founded in 1948
• Two principal academic divisions: Stage Arts and Screen Arts
• Main campus in central Sofia, with a newer branch in Burgas

Student Life & Environment

Student activity is closely tied to making and presenting work. NATFA operates drama and puppet training theatres as well as an audiovisual complex, allowing performances and screen projects to form part of everyday academic life. Its public repertoire and events provide opportunities to see work produced within the academy, while workshops, studios, cinema facilities, the academic library, and the archive support preparation outside scheduled classes. The academy has a student dormitory in Building 29 of Sofia’s Students’ Campus. Full-time students, doctoral students, and eligible specializing students may apply, but accommodation is assigned through a ranking process when demand exceeds available places. Rent, deposits, and service charges are set separately by rectorial order, so the existence of the dormitory should not be understood as a guaranteed room or a fixed housing price. Erasmus students are also directed to academy accommodation in the Students’ Campus. The 2026/27 applicant portal identifies additional student provisions including a canteen, scholarships, student transport concessions, health-insurance arrangements for eligible students, Erasmus+ study or placement mobility, and access to an international student identity card. Eligibility varies, particularly by citizenship, age, study status, and funding category. A Student Council provides formal student representation. Students based at the Burgas branch should verify locally available housing and services, as the published Sofia dormitory information should not be assumed to apply there.

Location & Surroundings

NATFA’s main teaching buildings are grouped around G. S. Rakovski Street in central Sofia. The official contact page lists buildings at 108A and 114 Rakovski Street and at 20 Stefan Karadzha Street. This places students in Bulgaria’s capital rather than on a self-contained suburban campus. The setting is particularly relevant to theatre and film students because study takes place within the country’s largest concentration of cultural institutions, productions, and creative organizations, although the academy does not promise any particular external placement through location alone. The student dormitory is not beside the central academic buildings. It is located in Building 29 in Students’ Campus, a separate district with restaurants, sports facilities, student dining, shops, health services, and transport connections. Students considering dormitory accommodation should therefore account for commuting between Students’ Campus and central Sofia. NATFA also operates a Burgas branch at the International Congress Centre near the city’s maritime station. Selected 2026/27 bachelor’s programs and their entrance examinations are assigned to Burgas. Applicants should read each specialty page carefully before planning relocation, auditions, or housing, since the database record’s Sofia location does not describe every current program.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For 2026/27, NATFA publishes annual state-funded tuition rates for Bulgarian, EU, and EEA citizens of €1,230 for first- and second-year bachelor’s students, €1,180 for third-year students, and €1,100 for fourth-year students. The listed annual rate is €1,330 for a master’s degree following a bachelor’s and €1,650 for doctoral study. Separately, paid-study places are listed at €4,470 for bachelor’s, €4,530 for master’s, and €4,600 for doctoral study. These categories are not interchangeable, and applicants should use the fee attached to their citizenship, admission route, level, and funding status. Entrance-examination charges for Stage Arts in 2026/27 are €70, €45, and €40 for the first, second, and third rounds respectively. No current official figure was found for dormitory rent, food, transport, supplies, or total cost of attendance. Housing charges are established by rectorial order, while production-heavy specialties may involve personal materials or portfolio costs that are not quantified on the official pages. Students should therefore request a current housing quotation and construct a separate Sofia or Burgas living budget. Career preparation is embedded in practical output rather than expressed through published employment or salary statistics. Acting, directing, design, writing, cinematography, editing, sound, producing, photography, and criticism programs develop role-specific portfolios, performances, films, or production packages. NATFA also lists student practices and a Career Development Centre. These resources can support entry into cultural and creative work, but the academy does not provide sufficiently current graduate-employment or earnings data to support a numerical outcome claim.