For the first time, this year’s edition In The Palace International Short Film Festival will provide 7 nights of selected music acts.
Beach rhythms, house, crossover and Akaga, performing LIVE, will complement the sound of the waves by the beach stage.

Sofia, May 13th, 2009 – All guests of In The Palace International Short Film Festival will have the opportunity to see many famous bands on stage. Confirmed performers include Akaga, Bluba Lu, Leepra DeLuxe, Phuture Shok and Panican Whyasker. 
Other fabulous local and international bands are also expected, but the organizers keep them a secret. “There is no need to look for a sensation by announcing famous bands so early”, festival director Tsanko Vasilev says. “Let’s not forget that the festival’s focus is on cinema and we have a significant group of distinguished filmmakers.” 

The main jury will be headed by the legendary producer Sanford (Sandy) Lieberson. 
Lieberson entered the film industry as an agent working in Los Angeles, Rome and London. Among his clients were Sergio Leone, Richard Harris, Peter Sellers, Lindsay Anderson and The Rolling Stones. 
In 1977, he became the president of 20th Century Fox. Movies like “Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back” by George Lucas, “1900”, “La Luna” and “La tragedia di un uomo ridicolo” by Bernardo Bertolucci, “Alien” by Ridley Scott, “Kagemusha” by Akira Kurosawa and many more were created under his supervision. From 1989 to 1993, Sandy Lieberson was the president of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; during this time he was involved in the production of Ridley Scott’s “Thelma and Louis” and “Not without my daughter” by director Brian Gilbert. Other mega productions in his filmography are “Once upon a time in America” by Sergio Leone and “P.O.V” – a concert movie for Peter Gabriel with line producer Martin Scorsese; “Blade Runner” – again by director Ridley Scott, “Flesh and Blood” – Paul Verhoeven’s debut and the three times Academy award winning “A Room with a View” directed by James Ivory. 

Another member of the jury will be the Russian cinematographer Sergey Astakhov, D.O.P. of “The Brother”. He is the winner of numerous prestigious awards like BAFTA (The British Academy of Film & Television Arts) for cinematography, for “Crime of the Wolf”, and the “Golden Camera” prize for “The Brother”. In 1998 and 2002, he received the “Golden Ram” award for cinematography, for “Of Freaks and Men” and for “War”. He was born in 1953.