Silent observers

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SILENT OBSERVERS

OSSERVATORI SILENZIOSI

Eliza Petkova

96' /

Bulgaria,

Germany

/ 2024

Long sequences focus on the muzzles, eyes, noses, and paws of six animals living in an isolated mountain village in Bulgaria. They appear to be the only living beings in a world of the dead. The human inhabitants appear from behind, blurred and almost detached from reality. The elderly women of the village seem to share a symbiotic relationship with the animals: they speak and sing to them. One elderly woman tells her friend that the soul of a deceased loved one has possessed the body of a cat, while the cat’s soul has taken residence in the corpse of the dead man. A donkey is considered bewitched, and a dog is accused of being a chicken thief. Ancient rituals are perpetuated, though without full conviction. Superstition pervades everything. The animals watch silently, unable to communicate with humans, yet a goat’s cry when its offspring is taken away is heart-wrenching and expresses all its pain. With the death of one of the elderly women, even the donkey is left alone. Time seems suspended, while invisible forces linger in the shadows.