The 5th International Festival of Ethnographic Films “OKO” ended with a grand closing ceremony on November 15, the second part of which was held in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. 88 films competed for awards in 4 competition sections, which were evaluated by a professional jury. In addition, the audience and the festival team chose their favorites.

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After a busy film festival week, guests, friends and fans of ethnographic cinema and “OKO” gathered at the “G8” Cultural Center to find out the names of the winners and celebrate the end of the anniversary edition.

The first to give a heartfelt speech was the director of the International Ethnographic Film Festival (IEFF) “OKO” Tetyana Staneva. She thanked all the viewers who supported our film festival and received inspiration, new knowledge, learned to empathize, understood what is happening in Ukraine, and felt the heartbeat of our planet.

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“I’ll be honest: at the end of the film festival, we felt lighter because we shared this pain with you, and it no longer seems so heavy to us. Thank you for coming to watch films about war, I know how traumatic, scary and unpleasant it is to watch. We had screenings during which people left the hall because they couldn’t bear so much pain. In particular, there were many scenes of violence in the film “Mad Men,” but it’s true, this is how Ukraine lives now and how it lived in the past. I want you to know that you inspire us with your presence, you give us hope, and we know that we are not alone,” said Tetyana.

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On October 7th, around 70 admirers of ethnographic films and the OKO gathered at the G8 Cultural Center. The Bulgarian and Ukrainian jury members announced the names of the winning films in four competition categories, which received cash prizes, diplomas, and festival awards. In addition, four more films received special mentions.

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