A man repairs his fishing net and goes out to the bridge. Two trams run into each other – nobody is hurt and the cables are fixed the same day. A small concert is given for factory workers and the sincere performance of a violinist makes them cry. Bombs fall into the sea, no one notices. Everyday life is defined by bomb threats in Mariupol, a city in Ukraine, situated east of Crimea and once populated by Greeks. It is a visually powerful homage to a city in crisis, dedicated to its poets and shoemakers.
Mantas Kvedaravicius is a filmmaker and an academic who holds the long-standing interests in absence, materiality and body in their performative and political manifestations. He holds a PhD in social anthropology from the University of Cambridge, and currently is an associate professor at Vilnius University. His documentaries – Barzakh (2011) and Mariupolis (2016) have premiered and been awarded in Berlinale, Busan, Hong-Kong and Vision-du-Reel film festivals.
Barzakh (2011)
