Silent Observers

Through incredible tales of cats, donkeys, and other animals, this delicate documentary leads us into the heart of Bulgarian folklore and superstition, preserved by the elderly of a vanishing village.

In the remote Bulgarian village of Pirin, six animals reveal a mystical world of superstition: a cat is feared as a vampire, a donkey is believed to be bewitched, and a dog is accused of hunting chickens. With sensitive observation and a touch of gentle humour, the film captures the village’s fading hopes through the eyes of its four-legged witnesses. In this isolated mountain community, where humans and animals depend deeply on one another, both the settlement and its centuries-old stories and customs slowly vanish.

Programme section: Docs Open Debates
Original Title: Тихи наблюдатели | Year: 2024 | Duration: 96′
Country: Bulgaria, Germany | Language: Bulgarian | Subtitles: English
Director: Eliza Petkova | Production: Veselka Kiryakova – Red Carpet; Wood Water Films, RBB, Cinemanda | Screenplay: Eliza Petkova | Cinematography: Constanze Schmitt | Editing: Eliza Petkova, Hannes Marget | Sound: Hannes Marget

FESTIVALS & AWARDS (SELECTION) 

International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, 2024 – World Premiere | DOK.Fest Munich, 2025 – Best Documentary | Sofia International Film Festival, 2025 – Special Mention | CPH:DOX, 2025 | DocAviv, The Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival, 2025 – Best Documentary | National Festival of Bulgarian Cinema, SBFD Awards “Vasil Gendov” – Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Original Music

DIRECTOR’S BIO 

In 2016, Eliza Petkova completed her first feature film, “Zhaleika”, which premiered at the Berlinale where it was awarded a Special Mention. This was followed by various other festival screenings, as well as international prizes. Eliza was invited to participate in the Berlinale Talents in 2018, while her second feature film, “A Fish Swimming Upside Down”, premiered at the Berlinale in 2020. In the same year, she was awarded the Wim Wenders Grant. In 2021, she received the Kompagnon-Fellowship Award at the Berlinale and was awarded Best Director at the Tirana International Film Festival. Her documentary “Mayor, Shepherd, Widow, Dragon” premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival and celebrated its German premiere at the 43rd Max Ophuels Film Festival, where it received the Critics Award for Best Documentary. 

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

“Silent Observers” is the third and final film of a trilogy dedicated to the Bulgarian mountain village of Pirin. After the feature film “Zhaleika” and the documentary “Mayor, Shepherd, Widow, Dragon”, I decided to make a film that focuses on the animals in the village. Since humans and animals coexist in the village of Pirin, the desire to explore life from an animal’s perspective was born in a very natural and organic way. In the gradually fading village, myths and superstitions are often one of the few activities that bring joy to its inhabitants. I found it interesting to immerse myself in the stories in which animal personalities embody the fears and hopes of their owners. Not only are these animals the inseparable companions of their owners, but they often substitute partners, children, and sometimes have superpowers that leave the confines of reality. The arcane, the magical and the winding paths of superstition set the direction of this film, which does not seek the objective truth, but immerses the viewer in a mystical observation without giving answers.