INTERNATIONAL ETHNOGRAPHIC FILM FESTIVAL «OKO» AS A SPACE OF CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATION IN A MULTICULTURAL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The aim of the article is to comprehensively analyze the International Ethnographic Film Festival «OKO» as a space of cultural and educational communication: to consider the evolution of the programmatic accents of its first five editions (2020–2024), means of representing multiculturalism, community involvement, visual symbolism, the place of Ukrainian identity, as well as the role of the festival in wartime and its place in the context of cultural diplomacy.

The methodological basis of the study is an interdisciplinary approach that combines methods of cultural analysis, comparative and descriptive methods. The article uses a comparative approach to the analysis of the festival’s program data for 2020–2024, as well as an understanding of the narratives that shape the public image of the festival in the media field. The source base of the study is formed by official press releases, interviews with organizers, materials presented in the Ukrainian and Bulgarian media space, festival programs and related events.

The scientific novelty of the article lies in the comprehensive analysis of the «OKO» festival as a phenomenon of cultural communication in the Ukrainian and international contexts. The work traces the evolution of the festival as a space for interaction between different ethnic, national and socio-cultural groups for the first time. The cultural and integration function of the festival, which ensures the representation of Ukrainian identity in the global discourse, is substantiated.

Conclusions. The «OKO» International Ethnographic Film Festival plays the role of a meeting place for cultures, where cinema acts as a means of cognition, acceptance and empathy. The festival creates a space in which representatives of different ethnic groups can interact not only on the screen, but also in direct communication, discussions, and joint understanding of cultural codes. It successfully performs the function of a «cultural bridge» between the center and the periphery, between Ukraine and the world. In the conditions of war, the «OKO» Film Festival not only preserved its format, but also gained even greater significance as a means of cultural stability and a symbol of the invincibility of the Ukrainian humanitarian sphere. Through the representation of cultural diversity, support for Ukrainian documentary films, and attraction of a foreign audience, the festival confirmed the potential of culture as a unifying language.