MAD MAX meets STALKER: Eastern Ukraine faces the consequences of war, pollution and the extraction of mineral resources. Amid this hellscape lives Serhii alone in his broken-down home. When the steel foundry where he works closes, he thinks about finally leaving the “zone”. Then an encounter with Katya, a volunteer working for the “Black Tulip” NGO, changes his way of looking at life.

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Valentyn Vasyanovych, born in Zhytomyr/Ukraine in 1971, studied cinematography and documentary filmmaking at the Kyiv National Karpenko-Kary University of Theatre, Cinema and Television, and film directing at the Wajda School & Studio in Warsaw/Poland. His first short documentary AGAINST THE SUN received several awards at international film festivals. In 2014, Vasyanovych worked as a producer and director of photography for Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi’s THE TRIBE, which became one of the biggest international successes of Ukrainian film in the 21st century so far.

Filmography (selection): 2004 AGAINST THE SUN (short film), 2013 KREDENS, 2014 CREPUSCULE, 2017 RIVEN CHORNOHO, 2019 ATLANTIS