A curated package of films by women directors from Ukraine organised in collaboration with International Association of Women in Radio and Television, India Chapter and Ukrainian Female Film Industry
FILM FESTIVAL POSTER
FILMS SYNOPSES
Introduction
14:30 to 15:45: Fiction Shorts (I)
Оh! (Olga Zolotareva/Ukrainian /16:37 min)
A family sets out for a visit to the countryside. The children squabble in the back of the car, distracting their parents. Somehow, an old woman ends up riding with them. And then...
Doors (Natalia Davydenko/Ukrainian /9:31 min)
A young man rides through a vast desert landscape. His bike breaks down. And he is faced with a choice. This short leavens metaphor and philosophy with dark humour and optimism.
Seed (Ksenia Bugrimova/no dialogue/23:10 min)
A woman buys a special seed which she plants in a barrel and nurtures in secret, in this non-verbal short. Fantasies mingle with reality... until things take an unexpected turn.
Hermit Crab Master Of Escape (Larissa Gutarevych/Ukrainian/20:29 min)
Vitalina is 13 years old, at a new school, and her parents are getting divorced. And then her pet crab adds to the confusion, but ensuing events bring solace and insight.
A Hanging Coffee (Oksana Taranenko/Ukrainian/5:50 min)
A stylised fable-like sequence of events set in a coffee shop on a rainy morning. More than coffee hangs in the balance in this hangout space.
15:45 - 16:15: Virtual interaction with Ukrainian women filmmakers
16:45 - 18:00: Film
The Earth is Blue as an Orange (Iryna Tsilyk/Ukrainian & Russian/2020/74 min)
Against the background of an ongoing historical conflict, Anna and her children make a film together about their life, to cope with their daily trauma and surreal surroundings. Winner at Sundance for Direction, this documentary has won many more awards – best film, direction, cinematography – at major international film festivals.
18:00 - 18:30: Virtual interaction with Ukrainian women filmmakers
18:30 - 19:30: Fiction Shorts (II)
Solatium (Christina Tynkevych/Ukrainian & Russian /10:43 min)
Anna, an ambulance doctor, responds to a night call which brings back a painful past and challenges her moral compass.
Man (Oksana Artemenko/Ukrainian /6:20 min)
When a father is called to fight for his country, his toddler decides to be a grown-up for mother’s sake. A family vignette with an unexpected visual ending.
Broken (Solomia Tomaschuk/ /Ukrainian /20:16 min)
Two old acquaintances home from the army meet on a suburban bus. Their unfolding interactions show how you can leave the war, but war leaves its imprint on you. The short expressively conveys their need for support and yet the need to appear strong; their vulnerability is shot through with moments of grace.
Heartbreaker (Oleksandra Brovchenko/no dialogue/5:14min)
A delicious non-verbal romance plays out in the unlikely setting of supermarket aisles and counters.
Unwanted People (Loolie Mamontenko/Ukrainian/2021/15:19 min)
This stunningly filmed short with minimal dialogue strikes deep emotional chords, through the two contrasting worlds that Ludmila inhabits (three, if we include her dream and fantasies) – the nightclub where she works, and her home where she is alone yet not alone, both linked by her walks through a hard wintry landscape.
19:30 - 20:00: Virtual interaction with Ukrainian women filmmakers
