FRAGMENTS OF ICE
Ukraine I 80 min
Director: Maria Stoianova
Producer: Maksym Nakonechnyi
Production company: Tabor
Through her father's VHS archive from the 80s and 90s, the director tells the story of Ukrainian society's growing up: between the illusion of “Western paradise" and the troubles of the USSR.
My father was a figure skater in the Soviet ballet on ice. In 1986, he buys his first video camera. This coincides with my birth. In my father’s archive, I see two worlds: the intimate world of my childhood and the big world of his tours abroad. No matter what capitalist country he films - be it Canada, Greece, South Africa, Australia, Hong Kong, or Finland - he focuses on what impresses him due to that element lacking in his own country. Events in our lives reflect the dramatic changes in society. After the collapse of the USSR, my father gets a seasonal contract job in amusement parks in Europe. My parents’ image of the West acquires depth. We finally get a separate apartment in already independent Ukraine. The flat is in need of repair. Ukrainian society is in need of finding its own way.
MARIA STOIANOVA / IMDB
MARIA STOIANOVA is a Kyiv-based filmmaker. After finishing her education in cultural studies and social anthropology, she took up different positions within the film industry in Ukraine. She participated in, among others, the East-West Talent Lab and IDFA Academy (2019). In creating her films, Maria actively works with vernacular videos, public and private archives. She has directed and edited several short documentaries, among which are the award-winning films Ma (2017), Above the Styx (2019) and The Second Wave (2020).
Director’s statement
My family’s story forms part of a bigger story—that of a new society that grew up with a mixed identity and somewhat inaccurate expectations of freedom. The transitional period, namely the end of Perestroika and the years after the collapse of the USSR, was, so to speak, a dream time and a ghost time. We talked little about it in our family and in society. Still, what happened then is invisibly present in our lives today. I believe that my unique contribution here is to build a bridge between generations; to try to understand ourselves in the present through our past, and our past through what we are now.
Against the background of recent events, this film gives us an idea of what a colossal path our society has taken. While most Russians left the Soviet Union but never closed the door to it, Ukrainian society started experiencing a new consciousness. In this film, we take a closer look at the period when it all began. We intend not to do this stereotypically, but through the real lives of ordinary people.
MAKSYM NAKONECHNYI / IMDB
MAKSYM NAKONECHNYI has teamed up with a group of creatives to form the independent production company Tabor with his friends, which now makes documentaries, fiction films, theater plays, commercial and social videos, and cultural volunteering projects. Maksym has completed several fiction shorts as a director and regularly produces documentary films. His films have screened widely on the international festival circuit, and received both broadcast and theatrical releases. Maksym’s directorial feature debut BUTTERFLY VISION is included in the Un certain regard competition in Cannes 2022.
Where are we at?
Production budget: 124.022,00 EUR
Needed for completion: 104.632,00 EUR
Territories available: Worldwide except Ukraine
Expected release: 02.2.2023.
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Production company profile
TABOR is an independent production company based in Kyiv. They create feature films, documentaries, and theatrical performances. Tabor's projects were supported by the Ukrainian State Film Agency, IDFA Bertha Fund, Ukrainian Cultural Fund, Doha Film Institute, Eurimages, Latvian, Czech, Swedish Film Centers, among others. Their latest documentary projects are THIS RAIN WILL NEVER STOP (winner of Best Film in First Appearance during IDFA), SCHOOL # 3 (Generation 14+ program of Berlinale 67, Grand Prix) and NO OBVIOUS SIGNS (Best Eastern European film at Dok Leipzig).