Mariinka

Spanning a decade, this sprawling yet profoundly intimate war-time epic set in the embattled Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine follows several young lives as they adapt to their crushing reality. Natasha, a promising boxing talent, becomes a military paramedic. Angela, who lost her parents at a young age, survives by smuggling goods across the frontlines. Most profoundly affected are orphaned brothers Mark and Ruslan, who now fight against each other on opposite sides of the war—taunting one another in letters and phone calls—while their youngest brother Daniil, adopted by a conservative Mississippi family, watches from a distant land.

Acclaimed Belgian filmmaker Pieter-Jan De Pue (The Land of the Enlightened) uses 16mm film to give this sweeping portrait added warmth and texture. Both cinematic and sensitive, Mariinka is an impressionistic tapestry of youth, tested by political turmoil, and perseverance through the travails of history.