On September 8, the official opening ceremony of the 5th anniversary edition of the OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival took place in Bolhrad (Odesa region, Ukraine). After a forced three-year break, the Festival returned home, where it all began. The hall of the Center for Culture and Leisure of the Bolhrad City Council gathered guests and friends of the Festival from different parts of Ukraine and Bulgaria.
The event was hosted by Mrs. Tetiana Zhuzhukova, head of the cultural department of the Center for Culture and Leisure of the Bolhrad City Council. At the beginning of the Ceremony, all the guests had the opportunity to watch a video which briefly describes the history of the Festival from its birth to the present day. During these 5 years, our team has had to go through many challenges, but at the same time there were many joyful moments.
After that, the band GG GulyaiGorod sang. Over the years, the girls have been recording folk songs from authentic performers on folklore expeditions and now sing the songs in electronic form. The group performed ritual, humorous, lyrical songs, as well as a lullaby. They performed songs that still remain actual today. The group wished the festival prosperity and, according to tradition, sang "many years".
Then, the hostess invited the Festival's honored guests to the stage and they said their speeches.
Mr. Serhii Dymytriev, Mayor of Bolhrad, thanked the OKO IEFF for such a festival, for promoting tourism in the region and popularizing the cultural heritage of Ukrainian Bessarabia. In addition, the mayor presented an honorary award to the director of the film festival, the founder of the NGO “Association of Creative Personalities” Tetiana Staneva and thanked her for her passion.
Mr. Yurii Dimchoglo, Honorary President of the OKO IEFF, noted that now, more than ever, we all must be united. He is convinced that this region needs such a festival, Ukraine needs such a festival, and believes that after Ukraine's victory, the OKO festival will be more and more popular.
Mrs. Yaroslava Reznikova, Deputy Head of the Department of Culture, Nationalities and Religions of Odesa Regional State Administration, noted that the idea of OKO caught her eye and heart from the first minute. In her opinion, the OKO IEFF is the key to getting acquainted with Bessarabia.
Mr. Alek Alekseev, a Bulgarian actor, producer, volunteer and a great admirer of Ukraine, came to the opening of the Festival from Bulgaria. He first visited Ukraine after the full-scale russian invasion. The main purpose of his visits is to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine. Mr. Alek admires the heroism and resilience of the Ukrainian people. On behalf of the Bulgarians, he thanked Ukraine for its actions in the fight against therRussian aggressor. He thanked the team of the OKO festival and its founder for their work and efforts and wished them further success.
Next, the director of the OKO IEFF Tetiana Stanieva spoke. Tetiana called on the audience to observe a minute of silence for all those who died in the russian-Ukrainian war. She also reminded the audience why she founded the festival 5 years ago. “I created this festival for my land, which I love infinitely. People don't even ask about this love.” In addition, Tetiana noted that someone might say that the festival is not timely, because “when guns are firing and tanks are moving, the muses are silent.” “But what are these tanks for if there are no muses? Culture is a weapon, it always hits the target. Through culture, we recognize ourselves, self-identify, and answer the question: “Who are we in this world?”. The festival was created for the residents of the Bolhrad region so that they could feel the heart of the planet beating through ethnographic films.
The Bolhrad City Council prepared a surprise for the Festival director. She and the guests listened to Bulgarian folk songs performed by Ivanna Demirova, a native of Krynychne (Chushmelii) village, who was accompanied by Kyrylo Dukov and Dmytro Rusanzhyk.
Later, Ukrainian folk songs were performed a cappella by the PRA folk group. In particular, the girls sang the following songs: the wedding song “Smorodyna” recorded by Halyna Lukianets and Dmytro Lebedynskyi in the village of Kliushnykivka, Poltava region; the humorous “Oh, Don't Go, Barabash” recorded by Hanna Koropnichenko in the village of Hruzke, Kyiv region; lyrical songs (“The Moon Is Shining” recorded by Oksana Maslo in the village of Kryvonosivka village, Cherkasy region, “Oh, from behind the mountain,” recorded by Nina Kirimova in the village of Lypniazhka, Kirovohrad region) and the Chumak song “Oh, from behind the mountain, from behind the cliff,” recorded in the village of Liutenka, Poltava region.
Then the visitors watched the film “A Poem for Little People” by Ukrainian director Ivan Sautkin. The film was included in the NASHE OKO Feature Competition Program and officially became the opening film of the 5th edition of the OKO IEFF. The film is a frank and intimate look at the most vulnerable people on the front line of the bloody war waged by Russia against Ukraine, and at the volunteers of the evacuation team who risk their lives to save civilians. For them, there are no “little people.” The director of the film came to the opening ceremony and told the guests the story of the film's creation, explained what prompted the film and why he chose this title. Among the audience were also internally displaced persons. They thanked the director for the film and the Bolhrad City Council for its friendly attitude towards those who were forced to leave their homes because of the war.
In addition, a fair was held in the lobby, where everyone could buy our film festival merch, Bessarabian delicacies and souvenirs with symbols in memory of Ukraine and handmade products created by military wives.
The festival guests were able to see that Bessarabia is a hospitable land. Delicacies for the cocktail were provided by TM Bolgrad, Balkanski Yastia and Shchedra Okolytsia.
The OKO IЕFF team sincerely thanks everyone who shared the joy of the festival with us and invites residents and guests of Bolhrad to join the screenings and other festival activities during the week (September 8-15).
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