Statute
of the V OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival
About the Festival
OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival is an association of filmworkers and folklorists, film lovers and followers of customs and traditions. It is a celebration of ethnographic and anthropological, documentary and fiction films, where you can see and feel the everyday heartbeat of small and large peoples, communities, and residents of villages and cities. At the same time, it is a platform due to which filmmakers, and folklorists, ethnographers, and anthropologists can get to know each other, share ideas and agree on future cooperation.
Ethnography, folkloristics, anthropology, history, everyday life, problems and hopes, culture, national traditions and habits, notable events and personalities, etc. are the main focus of the Film Festival. "OKO" is a symbiosis of honoring traditions, learning new things and searching for current forms and trends, both in the national cultures of Ukraine and Bulgaria, and in the cultures of the whole world.
Ethnography, folkloristics, anthropology, history, everyday life, problems and hopes, culture, national traditions and habits, notable events and personalities, etc. are the main focus of the Film Festival. "OKO" is a symbiosis of honoring traditions, learning new things and searching for current forms and trends, both in the national cultures of Ukraine and Bulgaria, and in the cultures of the whole world.
The Film Festival, as well as related activities and events, have such goals:
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To archive and make the customs and rites, folk arts and crafts, life and everyday life of the ethnic communities of Ukraine and Bulgaria, as well as cultures and civilizations from around the world, available to the public.
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To play an educational role, covering the fields of ethnography, anthropology, history and others. To increase the level of awareness among the audience of their own national culture and identity and to acquaint them with the peculiarities of the cultures of the peoples of the world.
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To contribute to the development of intercultural and interethnic dialogue, reduction of manifestations of racism, xenophobia and discrimination through the demonstration of films about the cultural diversity of peoples and ethnic groups.
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To attract the attention of young filmmakers and viewers to ethnographic and anthropological material, folk art and crafts, to encourage them to creative searches in these areas.
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To create a center for professional communication of cinematographers and folklorists, which will give a possibility to develop new joint projects.
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To become a platform for popularizing Ukrainian and Bulgarian culture, cinematography, ethnography, history, etc.
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To popularize Ukraine and Ukrainian Bessarabia in Bulgaria and in the world and vice versa, and also strengthen Ukrainian-Bulgarian relations at the cultural level.
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To strengthen the morale of the Ukrainians and unite the world community to oppose russian military and cultural expansion.
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To understand cultural narratives and meanings in the context of historical retrospection and the present in times of struggle of Ukrainian society and the state in general for its past, present and future.
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To collect, preserve and increase cultural heritage and national memory.
The Vth OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival (ukr.: Міжнародний етнографічний кінофестиваль «ОКО», blg.: Международен фестивал на етнографското кино „ОКО“) in 2024 is held on the basis of this Statute, as well as the Regulations, which define the specifics, mechanism and algorithms for accepting the works, their screenings, forming the jury, evaluating the works and awarding their authors, etc. Rules and conditions, which are not specified in the Statute and Regulations, may be fixed in other statements (regulations, statutes, etc.) and/or implemented on the basis of the generally accepted practice of conducting similar events, in particular international film festivals, taking into account the national legislation of the event organizers.
The best author's works, in agreement with the rights holders, will receive organizational and informational support and will be recommended for practical implementation and further distribution on VOD and OTT services MEGOGO (Ukraine) and Neterra.TV (Bulgaria).