fiction feauture film
Noah, an experienced sapper, earned his nickname due to his affection for animals. He cares for abandoned dogs and trains them to detect explosives. It seems he gets along better with animals than with people. The commander of the unit, known as Grandpa, a longtime comrade of Noah, along with another experienced veteran of the Balkan war, nicknamed Croat, and the recruits are tasked with holding a dangerous stretch of the front. The experienced veterans support each other and help the newcomers survive the war. The russians, however, use explosive devices prohibited by international agreements, disguising mines as animal carcasses, toys, and household items. Croat dies on one of these mines. During a sudden attack by enemy forces, Grandpa falls into an ambush from which he cannot escape alive. Noah faces a tough choice in this battle – the lives of the dogs he saved or the lives of the military unit, now consisting only of inexperienced recruits.
CREATIVE TEAM
MARYSIA NIKITIUK, scriptwriter
Marysia Nikitiuk graduated from Kyiv Karpenko-Karyi National University. Writes scripts for films since 2012. Her shorts as a writer have been in programs of such film festivals as Locarno, Clermont-Ferrand, Cairo IFF, TISFF, and awarded with numerous awards. From 2014 Marysia started to shoot her own films as a director.
FILMOGRAPHY:
2024 TRACES, documentary film by Alisa Kovalenko and Marysia Nikitiuk, co-director (in production)
2023 WHAT HAVE WE LOST, short film by Marysia Nikitiuk with fond “Voices of children”, director
2022 LUCKY GIRL, feature film by Marysia Nikitiuk, scriptwriter and director
Tallinn Black nights IFF, official selection
2019 HOMEWARD, feature film by Nariman Aliev, scriptwriter.
72th Cannes IFF, Un Certain Regard section.
2018 WHEN THE TREES FALL, a feature film by Marysia Nikitiuk, scriptwriter and director
68th International Berlin Film Festival, Panorama section,
Warsaw IFF, Tallinn Black Nights IFF, IFF of India (Goa)
SOLOMIYA ILNYTSKA, producer
Solomiya Ilnytska is a producer and project manager. She graduated from the A.F. Modzalewski Krakow Academy in Poland. She has been working as a producer of feature and documentary films since 2019.
FILMOGRAPHY
2024 DOVRZENKO, feature film by Ihor Tsishkevych, in post-production.
2023 BEHIND THE GLASS, feature film by Taras Dronya.
2023 "This Is Us. Cultural Mosaic of the Crimean Peoples," a multimedia project (video and podcast) dedicated to the cultural diversity of Ukrainian Crimea. "Hromadske Radio."
2023 English-language podcast "Ukraine Calling," covering the most important events in Ukraine for a foreign audience. https://hromadske.radio/en/podcasts/ukraine-calling
2021 FORGIVEN, short film by Yuriy Martashevsky.
2020 EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY, feature film by Taras Benyuk.
2019 PATTERN, feature film by Taras Benyuk.