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