Silent Observers

Eliza Petkova / Bulgaria & Germany / 2024 / 95 min

In a remote village in the mountains of Bulgaria, six domestic animals reveal the dark side of human fear and superstition. ‘Silent Observers’ is a cinematic and deeply original film about imaginary worlds in closed communities, somewhere between documentary and folk horror – all of it seen from the silent perspective of the animals. Matsa the cat is suspected of being a vampire and Kirka the shapeshifting donkey is suspected of being his owner’s bewitched son in another form. Without much dialog and with great sensory tactility, director Eliza Petkov conjures a timeless world where ancient folklore seeps into the present and occult forces rumble in the twilight. But although her film shifts its perspective from humans to animals, it deliberately avoids giving the animals human characteristics – the last inhabitants of the village will handle that themselves.