Todor Valov - Little Prince Lifetime Achievement Award

23rd September 2026, at 6.30 PM

Hotel Patria

Todor Valov was born on August 4, 1966, in Varna, Bulgaria. He completed his secondary education in French before enrolling in the Acting Department of the Krsto Sarafov National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA) in Sofia, graduating in 1991. After a brief career as an actor, he discovered his talent for puppetry directing and subsequently enrolled in the Puppetry Directing Department at the same Academy, graduating in 1995 under the mentorship of Nikolina Georgieva and Atanas Ilkov, founders of the Academy’s Puppetry Department.

Valov began his career as a puppet director with an adaptation of Donald Bisset’s fairy tale Good Morning, Good Night. By 1998, he had received a National Award, which opened the doors of Sofia’s Central Theatre to him.

At the beginning of the 21st century, he became a frequent guest director at numerous children’s theatres in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, and Montenegro. He has also directed productions in Germany and received countless awards at numerous festivals. A special place in his directorial oeuvre is occupied by two productions in Serbia: Swan Lake at the Theatre for Children and Youth in Kragujevac, and A Pair of Shoes at the Children’s Theatre in Subotica. Swan Lake was named the best puppet production of 2013 by UNIMA Serbia. He particularly cherishes the memory of A Pair of Shoes being performed at the Zvezdarište Festival in Belgrade in 2015, where it won awards in every category, from the Grand Prix to individual acting and authorship awards.

Among the impressive number of awards he has received throughout his career, Valov personally highlights the 2020 “ICAR” National Award for Best Production for Pinocchio, performed by Teatar Ruse from Bulgaria.

At the invitation of Professor Bonyo Lungov, Head of the Puppetry Department at NATFIZ in Sofia, Todor Valov continues to collaborate with the Academy, directing productions with its students.

As an artist, Todor Valov is known for his great range and is one of the few directors whose productions are genuinely distinct. His artistic role models were Professor Nikolina Georgieva and the Romanian director Silviu Purcărete. As a boy, he was captivated by Nikolina Georgieva’s shadow-theatre production Carnival of the Animals. He was deeply impressed by her artistic poetics, and his desire to learn more about the art of puppetry eventually led him to become her student. As he has said, “There are no coincidences.”

Valov’s main sources of inspiration are music and movement. He perceives puppetry as “ballet with puppets,” while also emphasizing the visual aspect as an essential element of every performance. He enjoys exploring the animation of puppet movement, primarily through musical cues. Music drives him. He compares puppetry to ballet; for Todor Valov, puppetry is ultimately a form of “choreography.”