documentary project
As the houses destroyed by Russian aviation in Mariupol are dismantled, piece by piece, the story of the construction and destruction of a totalitarian system comes to light. The system rises simultaneously with the reconstruction of the Azovstal plant, where the director's grandfather was forced to work in 1944 under the threat of execution. Coercion, threats, and propaganda focused on showing happy people building two death machines accompany the putting-together of a totalitarian system and a metallurgical giant. Both structures work like crematoria, using people as fuel and producing ashes and soot.
PROJECT TEAM
ZOYA LAKTIONOVA, scriptwriter
She first entered the world of documentary filmmaking as a featured actress in 2017, and a year later, she made her first documentary, Diorama (12') about the mined sea in Mariupol. The film received the MyStreetFilms award at the 86 Festival (Ukraine) in 2018, participated in numerous European film festivals (DOKLeipzig, Ji.Hlava, Cottbus, FIDMarselle, etc.), and was released in Ukrainian theatres in 2019. In 2021, Zoya's new short film Territory of Empty Windows (10') premiered at DocudaysUA, and its theatrical premiere was at Molodist Film Festival in Kyiv. The film received the Ji.Hlava Special Award at the 2021 Kinosaray Festival in Obyrok and the main award of the documentary competition at the French-Ukrainian festival MIST 2021. Its international premiere took place at MakeDoxIFF in North Macedonia.
VALERIA SOCHYVETS, producer
Valeria Sochyvets graduated from the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television with a directing degree. From 2012-2014 she was a curator; from 2014-2017, she worked as a program director at the GOGOLFEST film section. In 2015, she founded an NGO CUC (Contemporary Ukrainian Cinema), which aims to popularize Ukrainian cinema and film production. Valeria has created several independently-produced short films, screened at prestigious international film festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand and PÖFF Shorts in Tallinn. She has participated in international pitching and co-production markets, winning several awards for her project BLINDFOLDED at Connecting Cottbus and Boat Molodist Kyiv IFF 2015. In 2016, Valeria curated the film program at Intermezzo and IFFM Porto Franko festivals. From 2018 to 2022, she was a member of the Board of the Ukrainian Film Academy. Valeria is currently a Member of the European Film Academy and the Ukrainian Oscar Committee.
2022 IT IS QUIET HERE, fiction, 12' dir. by Olena Podolianko and Novruz Hikmet
2022 LA PALISIADA, feature, 100' dir. by Philip Sotnychenko
2022 THE GLASS HOUSE, fiction, in production, 105', dir. by Taras Dron
2020 PAPERUSHKA, fiction, 15', dir. Lilia Ostapovych
2020 BLINDFOLDED, fiction, 100', dir. by Taras Dron