Against the backdrop of war in Ukraine, filmmakers Max and Maryna try to hold on to their relationship as everyday life slowly falls apart around them.
Struggling with a midlife crisis, Max becomes obsessed with restoring an old car, turning the painstaking process of repair into a refuge from uncertainty. In an attempt to stay close to him, Maryna picks up a camera and begins filming him. Gradually, the act of filming itself becomes their way of communicating — a fragile language of love, care, and silent confrontation.
When the full-scale war forces Maryna to leave the country, the camera continues to mediate their relationship across borders, missile attacks, and blackouts. Through absence and separation, the film becomes an intimate chronicle of two people trying to preserve connection in a world transformed by war.
Maryna Nikolcheva is an emerging Ukrainian filmmaker. Initially trained as an architect, after graduating from Maysternia.DOC Serhiy Bukovsky Film Programme in 2017, she turned to documentary filmmaking. In 2020 she founded a course for young artists, Shcrab Visual Arts School, that aims to fill the gap between Ukrainian and European educational systems and help students to find the direction or field they are willing to explore in future. Based in Kyiv, Ukraine.
One Day I Wish to See You Happy (2025), Glory to Mstyslav (2020), (re)dress (2018)
