29th Black Nights Film Festival — Doc@PÖFF International Competition 2025
Country
Ukraine, France
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.
Credits
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Director
Maryna Nikolcheva
DOP
Maryna Nikolcheva
Editors
Matthieu Grosmaire, Maryna Nikolcheva
Supervising Sound Editor
Kateryna Herasymchuk
Producer
Oleksandra Kravchenko | Moon Man, Ukraine
Co-producers
Florent Coulon, Félix Salgado Lopez | VraiVrai Films, France
With support from
+
CNC, Ukrainian Film Academy & Netflix
In partnership with
Procirep, Angoa, Lyon Capitale, Filmboost
Kanaldude, PeaceForArt, Verzio FF
Pitched/Presented
+
Baltic Sea Docs Forum 2022
East Doc Forum 2023
DocsBarcelona 2023
Verzió Doc Lab 2023
Festivals & Awards
+
29th Black Nights Film Festival — Doc@PÖFF International Competition 2025
23 International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival Docudays UA, official selection 2026