In a remote Bulgarian mountain village, six animals reveal the mysterious world of superstition.
A cat is considered a vampire, a donkey is thought to be bewitched, and a dog is seen as a chicken hunter.
Through sensitive observation, we witness the dwindling hopes of the village through the eyes of its four-legged inhabitants.
Time seems to stand still, yet transience remains the only constant.
SILENT OBSERVERS
Bulgaria, Germany 2024, 95 min
ALEXA Mini, Dolby Digital 5.1
Original language: Bulgarian
Subtitles: English, German, French
CAST
MATSA
MILA
GOSHO
KIRKA
BELUSHA
BELKA
TEAM
Written and directed by: ELIZA PETKOVA
Cinematography: CONSTANZE SCHMITT
Sound: HANNES MARGET
Producer: VESELKA KIRYAKOVA
Co-Producers: JASPER PH. MIELKE, KAROLINE HENKEL, ARTO SEBASTIAN, ELIZA PETKOVA, CONSTANZE SCHMITT
Assistant Producer: TSVETELINA YORDANOVA
Production Manager: STOYAN MIZYULEV
Production Assistant: SONYA IVANOVA
First Assistant Camera: ALEXANDER BENEV
Editors: ELIZA PETKOVA, HANNES MARGET
Original Score: ADAM GOODWIN, ANIL ERASLAN, JUNG JAE-KIM, LUCAS AKINTAYA, SHINGO MASUDA
Color Grading: TIM KRÖGER
Sound Designer and Mixer: HANNES MARGET
Foley Artist: KONSTANTIN FAUST
Produced by: RED CARPET
In Coproduction with: WOOD WATER FILMS, RBB, CINEMANDA
37th IDFA, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tempo Documentary Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
29th Sofia International Film Festival, Bulgaria
* nominated for Best Documentary Film in the International Documentary Competition
* WINNER Special Mention by the International Documentary Competition Jury
27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, Greece
CPH:DOX, Copenhagen, Denmark
National Film Festival "Vasil Gendov" - Union of Bulgarian Filmmakers Awards
* nominated in five categories (Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Music and Best Editing)
* WINNER Best Documentary Film Award
* WINNER Best Director Award
* WINNER Best Music Award
24th DOXA Documentary Film Festival, Canada
40th DOK.fest München, Germany
* nominated for the VIKTORIA Main Competition DOK.international
* WINNER VIKTORIA Main Competition DOK.international
22nd Millennium Docs Against Gravity, Poland
* nominated for the Warsaw Documentary Award, the ETNOMATOGRAF Award and the Award for Best Cinematography
SXSW LONDON, United Kingdom
18th BELDOCS International Documentary Film Festival, Serbia
* nominated for the International Competition Award
Golden Linden International Film Festival, Bulgaria
27th Docaviv - The Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival, Israel
* WINNER of the Artistic Vision Award at for the Depth of Field Competition at Docaviv
2025
10th Burgas International Film Festival, Bulgaria
72nd Sydney Film Festival, Australia
Heimat Europa Filmfestspiele, Germany