OKO Film Festival: Celebrating Cultural Connections
This year, the International Ethnographic Film Festival OKO brought together various cultures across five cities: Kiev, Bolhrad, Sofia, Kamianets-Podilskyi, and Odesa. The event created a platform for cultural exchange and dialogue, showcasing 95 films from 52 countries.
In Bulgaria, at the City Mark Art Center, distinguished guests — cultural figures, filmmakers, and cinema enthusiasts — gathered to summarize the festival's outcomes, announce winners, and celebrate films that reflect the depth of human experiences.
Winners of OKO GLOBAL FICTION:
- Jury Grand Prize — “Reed”, directed by Cemil Aadjikoglu (Turkey, Bulgaria);
- Special Jury Prize for Ethnographic Representation — “Banzó”, directed by Margarida Cardoso (Portugal, France, Netherlands);
- Jury Special Mention — “Id”, directed by Yousef Abo Madeghim (Israel).
Winners of OKO GLOBAL NON-FICTION:
- Jury Grand Prize — “To the West. To Zapata”, directed by David Beam (Cuba, Spain);
- Special Jury Prize for Ethnographic Representation — “Silent Observers”, directed by Eliza Petkova (Bulgaria, Germany);
- Jury Special Mention — “Mashtat”, directed by Sonia Ben Slama (France, Lebanon, Tunisia).
Winners of NASHE OKO:
- Jury Grand Prize — “Father’s Lullaby”, directed by Lesya Dyak (Ukraine, Romania, Croatia);
- Special Jury Prize for Ethnographic Representation — “A Bit Foreign”, directed by Svitlana Lishchynska (Ukraine, Germany, Sweden).
Special Jury Mention was awarded to the film “Checkpoint ‘Zoo’”, directed by Joshua Zeman (USA, Ukraine) for its truthful depiction of Russian crimes against people and animals.
Additionally, the special prize for the best Ukrainian film went to “My Morning Routine”, directed by Vadym Adamov (Ukraine).
The jury's special mention went to “I Died in Irpin”, directed by Anastasia Falileyeva (Ukraine, Slovakia, Czech Republic) for its ability to convey pain beautifully and touch the world with its tenderness.
Top films based on audience voting:
- Audience Grand Prize from the Ukrainian edition — “Search Trilogy: Separation”, directed by Sofia Hera (Ukraine);
- Audience Grand Prize from the Ukrainian Online edition — “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, directed by Franz Böhme (United Kingdom);
- Bolhrad City Council Audience Prize for favorite Bulgarian film — “Spirit of Masquerade Games”, directed by Rositsa Lazarova Sbarali (Italy, Bulgaria);
- Audience Grand Prize from the Bulgarian edition — “2000 Meters to Andriivka”, directed by Myroslav Chernov (Ukraine, USA).
