Bulgaria / Germany 2024, 96 min, Bulgarian, Hebrew & English subtitles
The focus of this extraordinary film, set on a tiny Bulgarian mountain village with a shrinking population, is those who possess the last bits of memory—and some say, the souls of the dead, too: a dog, a cat, a donkey, a horse, and a goat. Did the neighbor punish her alcoholic son by turning him into a donkey, or was she protecting him? And is the cat haunted by a vampire? Captured in expressive, wordless close-ups, Mila, Kirka, Gosho, and the film’s other four-legged subjects are both mundane fixtures of daily life in the village and the secret-bearing protagonists of the myths spun by its human inhabitants. This gentle and endearing cinematic work draws us into an alternative existence where nature and folklore intertwine.
The screenings of the film are supported as part of the cooperation NRW@Docaviv with the Film-und Medienstiftung NRW and Office of the State of North Rhine-Westfalia.
Previous Festivals: IDFA, Tempo IFF
