Snezhina Petrova

The film's motto is: "The world of the elderly is a world that is constantly shrinking. Little things become big. Few people are important to us, but they are very important." Federico Fellini.

This is a film about love, ten bottles of vodka and a town that must sink. Because when hope is gone, Miracle is the last resort.

High in the mountains of Macedonia a team of young film makers are making a documentary about Katerina Vandeva - a descendant of an ancient and very famous family. Several former state and party functionaries interfere in the filmmaking in the hopes of manipulating Katerina's confessions for their own purposes. Nikola, the director, and his friends have to make the choice - whether to compromise with their consciences and their art, (as normally happens here in the Balkans), or whether to preserve Katerina's message.

Seven-year-old Dodo comes to his grandmother's village for the summer, where he meets a young woman who talks to animals. Friendship with her and a little gypsy girl allows Dodo to get to know the world of "our little brothers" better.

Portraying the customs and traditions of a village set in the breathtaking landscape of rural Bulgaria, Zhaleika subtly tells the tale of a young woman’s emancipation.