Matriarchy (1977)

The action took place in a Bulgarian village, inhabited mostly by women. Bereft of means for living, their husbands work in the town and are rare to show up. The women work, have fun and enjoy a wonderful sense of solidarity. The women's everyday life is not easy: they work in the fields, keep the houses going, they are lonely. They help each other, at times, quarrel, and dream along with the funny events that occur. However, it turns out that each of these women has own personal drama. Old Yordana, whose son is professor, has chosen to await death alone. Ganeta's husband wants her to seduce an auditor in the hope that the embezzlement for which he is eventually imprisoned will not be detected. Some time later she commits adultery against her will and suffers under the burden of her 'sin', which gets known in the village. Stipana, for her part, finds her only solace in the brandy she distils at home. And Zhela, just like Yordana, faces a lonely old age. Tana despises her husband for being unable to arrange their departure to the nearby city. This is what their life is like. They, however, stand up to hardship and hope springs eternal. This is a film about the rupture of family ties and the characters' deep-rooted love for their simple life close to nature.