SYNOPSIS
The incredible life story of a Soviet soldier who was captured by the Nazis during WWII. His daughter Sana searches the past to understand her silent father. As she accompanies Sana in her journey, the filmmaker excavates film archives, to find traces of those millions of Soviet soldiers, who fell victim to two dictators: Hitler and Stalin. Through the technique of ‘re-appropriating the archive’, the filmmaker searches for the soul of the image, for those subtle remnants of those millions who were omitted from the narrative of the war. Softly, but determinately the film starts breaking sixty years of silence.
CAST & CREW
Aliona van der Horst
Director
Producer(s)
Ilja Roomans
Director of Photography
Rogier Timmermans
Production designer
Marlieke Hoepman
Music by
Anton Silaev
Sound
Rik Meier
Edit
Gys Zevenbergen
Cast
Sana Valiulina
Production company(ies)
Docmakers
Aliona van der Horst
Born 1970. In her 20 years of filmmaking Aliona van der Horst (born in Russia, raised in the Netherlands) has received multiple international awards for her films, which were screened at film festivals around the world. Because of her personal, poetic and cinematic vision, her films are profoundly compelling and touching. Her last film, Love is Potatoes, a first-person doc that deals with post-memory in contemporary Russia, won a number of awards, including the Golden Calf Award (Dutch Oscar) in 2018. Her film Boris Ryzhy won the IDFA Mid Length Competition Award in 2008. Two other films, Water Children and After the Spring of ‘68 are first-person docs. Her films revolve around the question of how ordinary people's lives are shaped by big historical events. By zooming in to a very intimate level she tells a universal story. Most of her work deals with Russia, a country with which she has a love/hate relationship. Retrospectives of her work were held in Barcelona, Kyiv and Belgrade. She is a member of the Documentary Branch of AMPAS (Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences).
Filmography
The Lady with the White Hat (1997), After the Spring of 1968 (2001), A Passion for the Hermitage (2004), Voices of Bam (2006), Boris Ryzhy (2008), Water Children (2011), 15 Attempts (2015), Love Is Potatoes (2017), Turn Your Body to the Sun (2021).
