Klondike
Gripping Ukrainian drama about a pregnant woman in a war zone who, even after debris from a Malaysian Airline plane (MH17) is strewn over her property, refuses to leave her farm.
Heavily pregnant Irka lives with her husband Tolik in a village in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. It is July 2014 and fighting is taking place on the nearby Russian-Ukrainian border. A wall is missing in the living room of their house, having fallen victim to the hostilities. This exposes a view of the barren landscape which is becoming a theatre of war. Even so, Irka refuses to leave her home. While Tolik’s separatist friends expect him to join their fight, Irka’s brother accuses him of betraying Ukraine.
Director Maryna Er Gorbach unfolds her sensitive family drama against the backdrop of a military conflict. Skilfully interweaving the personal and political story of the conflict in Ukraine and making good use of a carefully probing camera and excellent actors, she provides a powerful portrait of the banal horror of war. (source: www.berlinale.de)
KLONDIKE had its world premiere in January 2022, some two months before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but the film seasoned with touches of black humour has lost none of its relevance. At the Sundance Film Festival, the film won the award for best director in the world cinema competition.