Mariinka

In the Donbas, in eastern Ukraine, lies Mariinka, a town with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. In 2015, the town came under fire – quite literally – from separatists. It became clear in 2022, when the Russians launched their invasion of Ukraine, that things could get much worse. In the violence of the war, virtually the entire town was destroyed.

For his second feature-length documentary, filmed on 16mm, Belgian filmmaker Pieter-Jan De Pue has followed several young Ukrainians over a period of ten years, whose lives have been permanently scarred by all the conflicts. We meet Natatsha, once a gifted boxer, now a military medic; we get to know Angela, an orphaned smuggler; and the brothers Mark and Ruslan, who find themselves on diametrically opposed sides in this conflict. Through letters, video calls and charged silences, a moving story unfolds about connection and national loyalty, and about how political conflicts can even sever family ties.