Olha Zhurba’s sophomore feature, Songs of Slow Burning Earth [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Olha Zhurba
scheda film], is an audiovisual diary of Ukraine’s immersion in the abyss of the first two years of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The documentary, playing out of competition at the upcoming Venice Film Festival (28 August-7 September), is made up of “places, occasional characters, rare dialogues, intra-frame sounds and silences that capture the chronology of how the war became normalised”. Against the backdrop of this (meta)physical landscape of collective disaster, a new generation of Ukrainians aspires to imagine the future.

Zhurba tells Cineuropa: “The Russian aggression against Ukraine is a war against the world’s democracy and humanitarian values. The more the world thinks that it is a national conflict or feels tired of it, the closer the frontline will be moving to the west. The totalitarian Russian federation has a long-term plan to become an empire. And it is a big, comfortable illusion to think something will change after Putin’s death. It’s hard to understand for many people outside of Ukraine, but our defenders are keeping the peace for Europe, putting their lives on the line. How much longer can we hold up this wall?”

Anna Eborn, who edited the trailer, adds: “Ukrainian filmmakers have helped me see and understand the need for Ukrainian artists to create their own influences, inspiration and method, and stop referring to old references to filmmaking. This film is a crucial watch in order to emotionally try to understand the consequences of war, especially for international audiences.”

Zhurba’s feature debut, Outside [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], premiered at CPH:DOX and HotDocs in 2022, and snagged the Willy Brandt Award at the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin and the Japan Prize Award of Honor. Zhurba has also served as the editor of docs such as This Rain Will Never Stop [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alina Gorlova
scheda film] by Alina Horlova and Alisa Kovalenko’s Home Games [+leggi anche:
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scheda film].

Songs of Slow Burning Earth is being produced by Darya Bassel for Ukraine’s Moon Man, in co-production with Anne Köhncke for award-winning Danish studio Final Cut for Real and Kerstin Übelacker for Sweden’s We Have a Plan, ARTE France and Film i Skåne. Filmotor is handling its international sales. The movie is also part of Generation Ukraine, an initiative by the ARTE Group aimed at supporting the Ukrainian filmmaking industry by co-producing 12 documentaries.

Check out our exclusive trailer for Songs of Slow Burning Earth below: