THE LAST HOLOCAUST SECRET

The true Bulgarian story

THE LAST
HOLOCAUST
SECRET

The little-known story of how Bulgaria saved nearly 50,000 Jews from deportation — told through the memories of the family of Mladen Ivanov, one of the men who helped make it possible.

Watch trailerDiscover the film
The Last Holocaust Secret official poster

48 MIN · DOCUMENTARY · 2025

A FILM BY IRINA GEDROVICH

Running time48 minutes
FormatFeature documentary
LanguagesEnglish · Bulgarian · Hebrew
AvailabilityWorldwide rights

The film

Why do we know so much about how people were killed — and so little about how they were saved?

The Last Holocaust Secret begins with the memories of one family — the family of Mladen Ivanov.

There is no authorial voice telling us what to think. We hear the family. We see the surviving images of the time. Historians lead us through the events. And little by little, one man’s story opens the door to something much larger — the story of a country that found the courage to resist.

CountriesBulgaria · Israel · USACompletion2025AccessibilityEnglish SDH / CC
Two young boys in an archival wartime image

The story

“History is not only made by leaders. Sometimes it is changed by the courage of ordinary people.”

Faced with the planned deportation of Bulgaria’s Jews, individuals chose not to remain silent. Politicians, clergy, public figures and ordinary citizens stood against Nazi persecution. What began as individual acts of conscience became a broader resistance — and nearly 50,000 Bulgarian Jews were not deported.

Filmmakers

The creative team

Director / Producer

Irina Gedrovich

Award-winning director and producer Irina Gedrovich works across documentary, historical and narrative cinema, exploring history through intimate human stories. Her films have received international recognition across the United States, Europe and Israel, with work presented at Berlinale Panorama and FIPA, and honored at New York Festivals and the International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema London. She is the founder of New York–based Gedrovich Productions.

BERLINALE · FIPA · NEW YORK FESTIVALS · LONDON

Sound Design / Producer

Pavel Bogatyrenko

Sound designer, recording engineer and producer Pavel Bogatyrenko brings more than 18 years of experience across film, television, theatre and music. His distinctive approach to sound is built on years of original field and studio recordings, including rare musical instruments and unique acoustic textures. Combining musical training with extensive production experience, he creates an individual sonic language for each film.

FILM · TELEVISION · MUSIC · THEATRE

Editor

Aleksey Denisko

An accomplished film editor with more than 30 screen credits across feature films, documentary and television drama, Aleksey Denisko is distinguished by an exceptional sense of visual rhythm, movement and the plasticity of the moving image. Bringing years of experience to every project, he approaches editing as a form of authorship — discovering the emotional structure and rhythm that exist within the material.

BEST EDITING NOMINEE · LONDON IFF 2021

Recognition & eligibility

The story continues beyond the screen.

WINNER

Documentaries Without Borders International Film Festival

OFFICIAL SELECTION

New York Lift-Off Film Festival

98TH ACADEMY AWARDS®

Eligible for consideration following a qualifying theatrical run in Los Angeles.

Eligibility does not imply nomination. Academy Awards® is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Last Holocaust Secret official poster

THE TRUE BULGARIAN STORY

Beyond the film

One story opened the door. Behind it were many more.

Two years of research for The Last Holocaust Secret uncovered far more than a single film could contain — the lives of Bulgaria’s twenty recognized Righteous Among the Nations, untold acts of courage, and little-known chapters of the country’s wartime history.

The filmmakers are now developing this material as a documentary series — expanding the world of the film through new characters, untold stories and discoveries still waiting to be brought to light.

Industry

Rights & private screening

Worldwide rights are available. A secure screener, press kit, film stills, full credits, accessibility materials and festival status are available upon request.

Request private screenerView on IMDb