UKR/TUR, 2022, directed by Maryna Er Gorbach, 100', OV engl. subtitles
(narrative)
July 2014: expectant parents Irka and Tolik live in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, disputed territory in the early days of the war in Donbas. The nervous anticipation of of the birth of ther first child is violently disrupted when the nearby downing of flight MH17 exacerbates the tension enveloping their village. The looming wreckage of the downed airliner, and an incoming stream of mourners, emphasize the surreal trauma of the moment.
While Tolik’s separatist friends expect him to join their efforts, Irka’s brother is enraged by suspicions that the couple has betrayed Ukraine. Irka refuses to evacuate even as the village is captured by armed forces, and she tries to make peace between her husband and her brother by asking them to repair their bombed house.
This film is a fresh and uncompromising feature from Maryna Er Gorbach – a passionate filmmaker with a keen eye for detail. The film describes a space where a woman will soon give birth. Her home is a village on the border to Russia - soon to be occupied by Russians - but she’s determined to stay no matter the consequences. It’s also the site of an enormous human catastrophe with the downing of the Malaysia Airlines passenger flight. And it is a universal story, a personal tragedy about a family separated by ideology, in which the people closest to one another turn out to be fierce enemies. The film reflects Ukraine nowadays in all its complexity. This is no longer a world of grey, it’s black and white, presenting its protagonists with a stark choice between surviving for a better future or dying for it.
Directing award in the 2022 Sundance World Dramatic competition, Panorama Audience Award at the Berlin International Film Festival 2022.
Guest: Maryna Er Gorbach (Director)
Moderator: Barbara Wurm (Lecturer, Slavic Studies, Humboldt-University)
Funded by Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung
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