Alla Binieieva

Vilnius 2022. High-flying executive Marija chooses the worst possible moment for an honest conversation with her husband Vytas about divorcing - just one day before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine goes into full scale. Now they must navigate the process of separation as it collides with a refugee and mid-life crisis.

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Immortalised as one of the most scintillating and uplifting Christmas songs, 'Carol of the Bells' adapted from a popular and loved Ukrainian folk melody, came to represent the spirit of brotherhood and unity all over the world. The peaceful and neighbourly existence of three families, Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish, sharing a large house, musical evenings and merriment in the city of Stanislaviv in the years preceding and post war, is shattered. First in the Soviet occupation and the persecution of the Polish family, then, by the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, and the decimation of the Jewish family. Sacrificing their lives the Ukrainian family manage to save their neighbours' children and their own daughter. Death and loss come to these families, but the healing power and joy , and a promise that the Future Will Not be Cancelled which "Carol of the Bells' evokes will be everlasting.

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In the interweaving of five stories, the New Year's magician himself ceases to believe in miracles, because burdened with life and immersed in work, people completely forget about the holiday. He takes serious action and sells his suit to a simple guy who has long since lost his sense of "New Year's magic". By leaving his position as a magician, Santa deprives people not only of a festive mood, but also of snow that could contribute to this. But contrary to his views on the hopelessness of the modern generation, people notice the changes and become the creators of a real New Year's miracle on their own.

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When dictator Joseph Stalin dies, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to become the next Soviet leader. As they bumble, brawl and back-stab their way to the top, the question remains — just who is running the government?

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After losing a close person, Olga is left alone with her grief. With no one to share the loss with, she buys a car and goes on a journey around Kyiv and its surroundings. On her way she meets people who have lost themselves: some through constant lies, others because of a bad choice.

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This gorgeous movie—artfully composed in a muted sandy palette with exquisite attention to visual detail—takes place on the shores of the Black Sea in Crimea, where a group of neighbors seek tranquility and fulfillment fishing and striving to live lives of meaning, outside the bustle and cynicism of city life. This is a film about universal themes of human interaction and love and explores the full range of human desires and relationships. Such Beautiful People is a gentle story of gentle people striving to make their lives better, to find true happiness, and to better understand one another. (via cinema.indiana.edu)

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