Bulgaria's Deputy PM Mariya Gabriel presents honorary award to Hollywood actor Jon Voight

Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mariya Gabriel, presented in Los Angeles the honorary award in this year's edition of the Bulgarian Awards for Contribution to Art, Culture, Education and Science.

"On the Day of the National Revival Leaders we pay tribute to the creators and guardians of Bulgarian spirituality, language and culture. I am glad that the Bulgarian Awards for Contribution to Art, Culture, Education and Science are awarded on this day. Let the awards become a tradition, let them unite, inspire and bring more and more friends of Bulgaria together," Mariya Gabriel stressed.

The award honours and recognizes outstanding personalities (Bulgarians and foreigners) from the Bulgarian community on the West Coast of the United States for their contribution to Bulgarian art, culture, education and science. The initiator of the idea is Boyko Hristov, Consul General of the Republic of Bulgaria in Los Angeles. The awards are organized by BgFace - Bulgarian Foundation for Art, Culture, and Education and supported by the Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria in Los Angeles.

This year's winners in the four categories - art, culture, education and science are respectively: pianist Milen Kirov, the chairman of the Bulgarian Cultural Center "Ripni Kalinke", Sonya Kirova, First Bulgarian School "Vasil Levski" in Las Vegas and Prof. Ivan Tashev from Microsoft Research Labs in Redmont.

The honorary award for contribution to the cultural and artistic relations between the USA and Bulgaria was presented by Mariya Gabriel to the famous American actor, Jon Voight. He has won a number of awards, including an Oscar for a leading role, several Golden Globes and a BAFTA Award.

“You have won a number of prestigious awards of the highest level. It is a pleasure to present the Bulgarian award for contribution to the rapprochement between Bulgaria and the USA. I congratulate you on your achievements and assure you that you are part of the people we call friends of Bulgaria,", Mariya Gabriel said at the presentation of the award to Voight. "I will cherish this award and I will be happy to continue doing more projects in Bulgaria," said Jon Voight.

The event was attended by more than 200 official guests, including director Stefan Komandarev and members of the Academy for the prestigious Academy Award. The ceremony ended with the presentation of the trailer of the Bulgarian nomination for the Academy Awards - the film "Blaga's Lessons".

Images by Ministry of Foreign Affais