Petro Tsymbal

A documentary film that interweaves the lives of two main characters: Sergey and Anna. Sergey is an entrepreneur who provides military tours to foreigners. His story is about the rise of his small empire, from a small company made with the help of friends to a huge money machine that becomes the most successful firm for extreme tourism in Ukraine. Anna is a volunteer who had to escape from Donetsk (her hometown) at the beginning of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. She teaches art and games to children and often travels to Donbas to provide them dresses and toys. This life gives her meaning and fulfillment, but after meeting Alex on a night train, she falls in love with him and abandons her ideals. Unfortunately, Alex leaves her when she gets pregnant with his baby. She's alone in Kyiv with no money and no place to live, facing an uncertain fate. Will their paths cross? What do their stories tell us about modern Ukraine?

The director’s granny Zina had lived in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and, after retirement, she moved to Crimea. Cheerful and bossy, she has always been uniting the big family. After the annexation of Crimea by Russia, visiting her has become an endless hustle. The place has turned into ‘a distant planet’, like Mars, and its environment is unfriendly towards the lonely woman. For many reasons, the time has come for her to make a crucial decision.

Two women with very different lives, united by their common name Nadia, which means hope in Ukrainian, but also by their deep love of song. Some time ago, singing in Ukraine was commonplace; traditional songs were powerful collective meditations that accompanied people from birth to death. Nadia Mykytivna, 82, from the village of Kriachkivka, is one of those few who still keeps this fading tradition alive. She has been singing in the Drevo folk ensemble for 58 years, and is well-known by folklorists all over Eastern Europe. Nadia Mykytivna is the last member of the original Drevo ensemble, and musicians from all over the world travel to Kriachkivka to learn from her. On the other side of the ocean, in the United States, there is another Nadia. A short visit to Kriachkivka and hearing its songs changed her life. Inspired by this, Nadia made an intimate autobiographical theatrical monologue, The Broken…

This is a story about the mysterious connection between the present and the past, as reflected in the photo negatives discovered by chance.