Silent Observers

“She is wandering about with him and no one knows he is her son,” one older woman confides in another. By “him”, the speaker is referring to a donkey. Their conversation continues: another of the village’s women turned her son into a donkey, it’s explained, in order to protect him from answering for a crime he’d committed. In this misty, magic-tinted film, the viewer becomes part of this silent, slippery animal kingdom by proxy: the villagers are most often seen at arm’s length, but the four-legged locals – including the mischievous black-and-white cat Matsa, possibly a vampire – are viewed in inquiring close-up. Meditative but imbued with playfulness, Eliza Petkova’s singular film casts a gently potent spell.

Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.