Hristo Hristov is among the most eminent film directors and screen writers in Bulgarian cinema. He was born on April 11th, 1926 in Plovdiv, and after graduating from the Plovdiv Medical University (1952), the young doctor left to study at the Film and Theatre Institute in Sofia, which he graduated from in 1959. His first film Iconostasis (1969) was released after a decade of projects, opera performances, national awards for theatre directing and a specialization with Mikhail Rom in Moscow, at the MosFilm Studios.
His film Last Summer (1973) won the Foreign Film Award in Atlanta, USA, 1974 as well as the Special Jury Award at the Young European Cinema Festival in Toulon, France, 1975; while Rootless Tree (1974) won the First Prize at the Varna Film Festival, 1974.
Hristo Hristov was the Movies Head at the National Film Center (1995-99), Cinema Public Council Chairman (1999) and a Professor at the Film and Theatre National Institute, Sofia. Being among the most acclaimed BG directors, Hristo Hristov is the first Bulgarian chosen for a member of the European Film Academy.