Winner - Audience Award for Mid-Length Documentary
On February 24, Vladimir Putin began bombing Kyiv and the surrounding towns of Bucha, Irpin, and Borodyanka. After a month of unrelenting air attacks, Russian forces pulled out of the area long enough for residents to assess the damage. The destroyed buildings and devastated streets filled news reports around the world, but filmmakers Mila Teshaieva and Marcus Lenz dug in to see what and who was left. One of the earliest completed films of the war reveals a side of battle that is seldom seen—the massive effort of clearing up and caring for all that has survived. Rubble is shovelled and bodies are identified, these scenes are plain. But villagers also dress interior wounds; once closely tied families are now ripped apart. Politicians begin discussing tribunals and couples press on with weddings. In equal measures of respect and frankness, this early war chronicle witnesses the will of a people rebounding as the grass keeps growing. Myrocia Watamaniuk
Help support the protagonists: Olenka, a teenage girl from Borodyanka, Liudmila, a woman from Bucha who lost her husband and house, and Olga, who lived through an occupation in Irpin and is still in need of a home.
Streaming online May 5-9. Streaming is only available in Canada.This documentary includes challenging and/or triggering subject matter. Our Active Listeners are available if you’d like to speak with someone after viewing the film. All conversations with Active Listeners are confidential.