“I have no words to say” is a phrase one can often hear when the reality of the war is so striking that language seems incapable of describing it. While studying in Bruxelles, Daryna Mamaisur is caught up in Russia’s full-scale invasion of her country. In the springtime, when chestnut trees are blooming in Brussels and Kyiv at the same time, she makes a film capturing that spring at a distance. As she keeps up a visual correspondence with a friend from Kyiv, she faces the question: while making a film about war, how can we speak about wounds that are fresh and ongoing?
Content warning: depiction of war
CREW:
Director: Daryna Mamaisur
Producer: DocNomads
Cinematographer: Shaheen Ahmed, Daryna Mamaisur, Tetiana Usova (pictures from Kyiv)
Sound: Laura Castillo Beltran, Kateryna Voznytsya (additional sound)
Production
DocNomads
Director
Daryna Mamaisur
Daryna Mamaisur is a visual artist and a filmmaker, born in Kyiv, Ukraine. With a background in art theory and philosophy, she has developed her practice at the intersection of different disciplines. Her work is related to transformations of public space and landscape due to their connection to visual culture and memory. Besides, she has a particular interest in situations when language and vocal expression appear fragile and incapable of grasping reality. In 2022, she graduated from DocNomads, a joint master’s programme in documentary filmmaking, based in Lisbon, Budapest and Brussels. Her films have been shown at film festivals in Cottbus, Kassel and Visions du Réel.Selected Filmography
Smoke of the Fire (2023), I Stumble Every Time I Hear From Kyiv (2022), Sometimes It’s Cool, Sometimes It’s Not (2021), Revenge Comes First (2015) 
