Poland / France / Ukraine 2023, 84 min, Russian, French, Polish and Ukrainian, Hebrew & English subtitles
With danger lurking at every turn, a minibus navigates the broken roads of the Ukrainian war zone, rescuing locals and taking them to safety, with the filmmaker behind the wheel. Inside, the camera alternates between two fixed positions: one facing the road, one facing the ever-changing passengers—hollow-eyed mothers describing the horrors they have seen, an elderly woman reminiscing fondly about the cow she left behind, youngsters making sarcastic remarks about the Russian “liberators”. As the refugees talk about the past, the camera looks ahead into an uncertain future, capturing a desolate landscape of ghost towns, tank wrecks, and military checkpoints. The stories of these unremarkable victims of war form an intimate road trip documentary that leaves a profound emotional impact.
Previous Festivals: Sheffield, TIFF, IDFA, Cannes Film Festival - ACID Program, Millenium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival, DOKUFEST, CPH:DOX, Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
Award Winners Beyond the Screen Competition Current Events
Production: Piotr Grawender, Affinity Cine, Maciek Hamela, Pemplum
Editing: Piotr Ogiński
Cinematography: Yura Dunay, Wawrzyniec Skoczylas, Marcin Sierakowski, Piotr Grawender
Sound Design: Marcin Lenarczyk
Music: Antoni Komasa-Łazarkiewicz
Supporters & Broadcasters:
The Polish Institute in Tel Aviv