OKO Film Festival: Celebrating Cultural Connections
This year, the OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival brought together Kiev, Bolgrad, Sofia, Kamianets-Podilskyi, and Odesa, creating a unique space for cultural exchange. The sixth edition showcased 95 films in 24 languages from 52 countries, covering five continents.
In Bulgaria's capital, at the City Mark Art Center, esteemed guests including politicians, filmmakers, cultural researchers, and cinema enthusiasts gathered to review the festival's results, announce the winners, and celebrate the best films that resonate through time, traditions, and human stories.
Winners of OKO GLOBAL FICTION:
- Jury Grand Prize - “Reed”, dir. Cemil Aadjikoglu (Turkey, Bulgaria);
- Special Jury Prize for Ethnographic Representation - “Banzo”, dir. Margarida Cardoso (Portugal, France, Netherlands);
- Jury Special Mention - “Id”, dir. Yusuf Abo Madeghim (Israel).
Winners of OKO GLOBAL NON-FICTION:
- Jury Grand Prize - “To the West. To Zapata”, dir. David Beam (Cuba, Spain);
- Special Jury Prize for Ethnographic Representation - “Silent Observers”, dir. Eliza Petkova (Bulgaria, Germany);
- Jury Special Mention - “Mashtat”, dir. Sonia Ben Slama (France, Lebanon, Tunisia).
Winners of NASHE OKO:
- Jury Grand Prize - “Father's Lullaby”, dir. Lesia Dyak (Ukraine, Romania, Croatia);
- Special Jury Prize for Ethnographic Representation - “A Bit Foreign”, dir. Svitlana Lishchynska (Ukraine, Germany, Sweden).
The jury also awarded a special mention to the film “Checkpoint ‘Zoo’”, directed by Joshua Zeman (USA, Ukraine) for its truthful portrayal of Russian crimes against people and animals.
Additionally, the special jury prize for the best Ukrainian film went to “My Morning Routine”, directed by Vadym Adamov (Ukraine).
A special mention from the jury was awarded to the film “I Died in Irpin”, directed by Anastasia Falileeva (Ukraine, Slovakia, Czech Republic) for its ability to beautifully narrate painful experiences and touch the world with its fragility.
Best films as voted by the audience:
- Audience Grand Prize for the Ukrainian Edition - “Search Trilogy: Separation”, dir. Sofia Hera (Ukraine);
- Audience Grand Prize for the Ukrainian Online Edition - “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, dir. Franz Böhme (United Kingdom);
- Bolgrad City Council Audience Prize - “Spirit of Masquerade Games”, dir. Rositsa Lazarova Sbarali (Italy, Bulgaria);
- Audience Grand Prize for the Bulgarian Edition - “2000 Meters to Andriivka”, dir. Mykola Chernov (Ukraine, USA).
