Kukeri
2023 · 9m · Bulgaria / France
Directed by Killian Lassablière
Genres: documentary
Tones: contemplative, dark, surreal
A documentary portrait of the ancient Bulgarian Kukeri ritual, in which villagers don elaborate animal-skin garments, grotesque masks, and waist-bells to dance through their communities and drive away evil spirits. The film traces this thousand-year-old tradition and explores why participants across generations continue to carry it on.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Bulgarian villagers in animal-skin masks dancing evil away, opens as horror then warms up. The 552K views on a New Yorker doc means it earned its hooks — Cannes feature adaptation announcement is the kicker.
Lassablière opens in horror-film grammar before revealing communal warmth — the Bulgarian Kukeri tradition rendered through a Midsommar formal trap. Five hundred thousand views and a Cannes feature adaptation suggest the gesture connects.
New Yorker Documentary opening with horror-film atmosphere before peeling back to communal warmth — 552K views says that aesthetic-pivot strategy reads. Each village having uniquely distinct costumes gives the doc real variation to mine.
Reviews
Kukeri becomes more than just an aesthetically-pleasing profile doc, as its core message gives the short the lasting impact it needs to live with its viewers long after watching.
The opening shots are as breathtaking as they are strange.
Festivals
- Fresh Coast Film Festival 2023
- 1.4 Awards (Onepointfour) 2023, Best Short Film, Non-Fiction (Gold)
- Shark Awards 2023, Best Cinematography
- Conero Film Awards 2023, Best Documentary Short