May 2010 Goat Milk Festival – Bela Rechka
During May 21- 24 I attended the Goat Milk festival in Bela Rechka, a beautiful village set in the mountains of northern Bulgaria. Around 100 people from across Europe and beyond participated in a 3-day cultural festival based around story-telling and memories. Much of my own work is concerned with the retelling of stories and experiences so I was particularly keen to attend. It was a fascinating few days, not least for the experience of spending time in a rural Bulgaria where the pace of life is slow, measured and directly connected to the land. It was great for some of us city folks to be in a place where there was virtually no traffic, internet or TV.
The weekend comprised of many workshops that included bread-making, singing and sewing, as well as numerous presentations, discussions and screenings. The presentations themselves were quite varied and featured vibrant discussions that were very thought provoking. It seemed to me that central theme was really around migration, community, and the language of representation. A key presentation of the weekend was Shame, Pride and Migration by Babak Salari and Diana Ivanov which discussed their photographic essay Traumas and Miracles: Portraits from Northwest Bulgaria. Taking a classic photo-documentary approach this work seeks to comment upon the life of the ageing population of the area through a series of black and white portraits and personal quotes. In their contextualising Babek and Diana explained that the communities of this regions are mainly elderly because of the migration of the younger generations abroad in search of work. Many leave the area to work in Spain, Italy and Germany to look after elders for much needed euro currency in a country with relatively high unemployment opportunities. Who then, this project asks, is left to look after the elders of this area? The project and the touring exhibition Traumas and Miracles is a compassionate document, sharing visual and verbal ‘moments of time’ from the participants in an accessible language.
Several films were presented over the weekend, the most notable for me being the powerful documentary The Town of the Badanta Woman by Stephan Komandarev. Following on the earlier theme of home and migration, the film captures the impact of many woman who leaving the town of Varshets to look after the old and the sick of of Italy. It takes a simple approach that slowly reveals many of the stories of the woman who have to leave and the families left behind, and how they are all deeply affected by this ‘temporary’ migration. Diana Ivanov, who helped script the film, took the place of the director to facilitate the discussion of this compelling and emtionally charged film.
Overall it was a very valuable and stimulating festival for me to attend. There are many highlights that include new people, places, and unexpected interactions. I have added a gallery of random images taken during the weekend and the fews days we spent exploring the capital Sofia.
