The Bulgarian government has approved a privatisation strategy for local production outfit, Boyana Film. The film-maker, as one of the country's top six companies, is being used to spearhead moves by the Centre for Mass Privatisation (CMP), to float businesses on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BBE).

According to the strategy, the company will retain its status as the national film-maker for the next ten years. The permanency of this arrangement, though, depends on the next Bulgarian parliament, which is not obliged to uphold it.

Potential buyers are expected to have significant experience in the industry and to deliver an investment plan of at least $2.6m (levs6m).

Boyana's production complex covers 80 hectares of mountain terrain, eight miles from the capital, and includes animation facilities.

Eugeny Michailov, company chairman and executive director, calls it: "The Balkan Hollywood", offering a full film production cycle on one site

Currently in production at Boyana is In God We Trust, directed by Peter Antonijevic and starring Christian Slater and Val Kilmer. Past productions include Bertolucci's Little Buddha and filming recently finished on the Tim Blake Nelson-directed The Grey Zone.