ENG
directors note
As a child, like many, I believed I was adopted — a strange, painful feeling of not belonging, of mistrusting those in power. This sense of orphanhood, even if imagined, became the heart of my film, set in an orphanage.
The film is a collage of reality, memory, and impossible dreams. These children are denied futures from birth. Their language is violence. Their law is silence. This orphanage could
be any Russian home — shaped by control and cruelty.
It's a memoir of growing up in a brutal world where violence is normalized, and love is often confused with sacrifice. Children romanticize trauma to survive — but it's still trauma.
Will they see the truth or just the lies they were raised on? Will they escape?
I made this film after the war began — thinking of a generation raised under dictatorship.
I hope they will find a way out. I hope the answer is yes.
The film is a collage of reality, memory, and impossible dreams. These children are denied futures from birth. Their language is violence. Their law is silence. This orphanage could
be any Russian home — shaped by control and cruelty.
It's a memoir of growing up in a brutal world where violence is normalized, and love is often confused with sacrifice. Children romanticize trauma to survive — but it's still trauma.
Will they see the truth or just the lies they were raised on? Will they escape?
I made this film after the war began — thinking of a generation raised under dictatorship.
I hope they will find a way out. I hope the answer is yes.
A place far from home
Olejka is a 9-year-old boy with fair hair, living in an orphanage. His mere
presence has a magnetic effect on people. However, Olejka himself remains
indifferent to those around him, with only one aspiration - to be adopted.
presence has a magnetic effect on people. However, Olejka himself remains
indifferent to those around him, with only one aspiration - to be adopted.
directors note
Once, I experienced an unusual emotion I could not name. From it, a scene was born,
and then the film. I wanted to preserve this feeling as an artifact, sharing it beyond memory.
I found it in the moment when a daughter turns to her mother for an abortion.
The film follows a lost teenage girl seeking her place in the world and her significance in her mother’s life. The mother expresses care through control, while the daughter resists but also longs for closeness. The heroine asserts control over her body and choices,
yet ultimately returns to her mother, allowing shared responsibility. The abortion is her decision, carried out by another, binding their lives through a deep, shared experience.
In the end, they reach a dialogue: the daughter entrusts her wellbeing to her mother, then follows her to a rite of purification, where the mother returns control to her. The film closes with portraits of both, highlighting their individuality and mutual respect.
and then the film. I wanted to preserve this feeling as an artifact, sharing it beyond memory.
I found it in the moment when a daughter turns to her mother for an abortion.
The film follows a lost teenage girl seeking her place in the world and her significance in her mother’s life. The mother expresses care through control, while the daughter resists but also longs for closeness. The heroine asserts control over her body and choices,
yet ultimately returns to her mother, allowing shared responsibility. The abortion is her decision, carried out by another, binding their lives through a deep, shared experience.
In the end, they reach a dialogue: the daughter entrusts her wellbeing to her mother, then follows her to a rite of purification, where the mother returns control to her. The film closes with portraits of both, highlighting their individuality and mutual respect.
Toli
Anya is a young woman who seeks to discover something about her absent father figure,
but the strained relationship with her mother doesn’t allow for much leeway. When the mother brings home a strange male figure, their relationship only gets worse. Between raves and rituals typical of Buryatia, a republic that, despite being part of Russia, is marked by Siberian culture and traditions, Anya strives to rid herself of the anguish in her body.
but the strained relationship with her mother doesn’t allow for much leeway. When the mother brings home a strange male figure, their relationship only gets worse. Between raves and rituals typical of Buryatia, a republic that, despite being part of Russia, is marked by Siberian culture and traditions, Anya strives to rid herself of the anguish in her body.
diana Mashanova
director:
diana Mashanova
writer:
70 min
DURATION:
drama
genre:
Selections:
49th Atlanta Film Festival - Best Cinematography Award
Mammoth Lakes Film Festival
Bali International Film Festival
Lucca Film Festival
