Nina Pehlivanova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1986. In secondary school she began to get involved with various human-rights initiatives and spent three years in the Bulgarian Youth Red Cross. It was there that she developed her interest and experience in working with social minorities and organisations.

Since 2009, Pehlivanova has been active on several films in Bulgaria as a second assistant director. These include the short films Pawnshop (2011), The Judgement (2014), Chain (2014), Getting Fat in a Healthy Way (2015) and Red Light (2016). In 2010 she graduated from New Bulgarian University with a degree in film direction.

Pehlivanova is a member of NISI MASA, the European Network of Young Cinema. In addition to her involvement in film direction, she has also worked in the guest department of the International Sofia Film Festival.

Recently, Pehlivanova has decided to focus on producing documentary films. Her first feature film, titled Roma Quixote, was made in 2013 in co-authorship with Nakova, Petya. The film follows four different individuals and their families who live in a Roma neighbourhood in Kyustendil, Bulgaria. The film had several screenings and was an official selection at the Cottbus Film Festival in 2013.

References

http://romaquixote.com/en/film-team/nina-pehlivanova

http://www.nisimasa.com/

http://siff.bg/en/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-jdNAANqZ4

http://www.dokument-festival.com/industry/emerging-producers/2014/pehlivanova-nina

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5352503/

Filmography

2013 Roma Quixote