Why Is Bulgaria One of the Best Places for Studio Shooting?
Bulgaria has long had an excellent reputation among international production companies. Many of them have filmed here, and even when they haven’t personally, their partner companies have. That creates a sense of trust and confidence - people know Bulgaria delivers. And Bulgaria is the home to some of the most impressive studio shoots in Europe.
So why is it so good? To begin with, the studios here are top-notch. The soundstages are proper soundstages - safe, reliable, and built to industry standards. In some countries, stages may be older or converted from old warehouses, but in Bulgaria the facilities are solid and fully equipped. The stages have proper channels, reliable infrastructure, and they allow you to do a clean white-down on schedule. Everything is designed to support an efficient and professional workflow.
Bulgaria is also home to the largest pool studio in the Balkans - a spacious filming hall built around a 20-meter-wide, deep-water tank designed for high-end underwater and surface scenes. The stage offers ample room for set construction, elevated rigging, and full cinematic lighting setups, making it ideal for everything from feature films to commercials and stunt work. Its scale, controlled environment, and professional infrastructure attract productions from all across the world.
The studios in Bulgaria are well equipped, properly soundproof, and built to high technical standards. The materials used are safe and dependable, and the facilities include quality insulation, wiring, and all the necessary infrastructure. Ventilation systems and other essential technical elements are professionally installed and ready to support productions of any size. Everything is set up to ensure efficiency, safety, and smooth operation for film crews.
Then there’s the Art Department, which is incredibly strong. Thanks to the boom of American films shot here in the ’90s and the development that followed, the entire industry grew rapidly. All those American productions and all those sets were built by Bulgarian crews. And these crews are phenomenal - truly next level.
It’s also extremely rare to run out of available Art Department professionals. There is a large pool of skilled specialists, many of them freelance and ready to join projects at great rates. Some construction builds we complete here would easily cost four times more in the UK. Working hours there are also more strictly regulated. In Bulgaria, there are no unions, which makes negotiating rates more flexible. In countries with unions, it is a lot more complex – contracts, working hours, higher insurance premiums and much more. This increases the overall price, and the stricter work-hour limitations can extend schedules - something that might take three days in Bulgaria could take six days there, doubling the cost of the build. Here in Bulgaria, these limitations don’t exist, which is one of the reasons so much is possible. Materials are also reasonably priced, which further helps optimise the budget.
Another advantage is the proximity of the soundstages to the city. Some are even located inside the city, which saves a lot of time and significantly benefits the budget. Serbia, for instance, offers something similar, but Bulgaria remains highly competitive in terms of quality and accessibility. Sofia also has a large number of soundstages, meaning it’s almost always possible to find an available one. Compared to London, where many American productions book the studios months in advance, Bulgaria offers far more flexibility - there, even if you want to shoot, you might simply not find space.
Ultimately, Bulgaria’s strength lies in its combination of skilled crews, reliable infrastructure, and flexible working conditions. Productions can move fast, stay efficient, and achieve high-quality results without unnecessary barriers or inflated costs. It’s a place where creative ideas can be executed smoothly and professionally, making Bulgaria one of the most practical and attractive filming destinations today.
