Olga Chernykh
A Picture to Remember
A PICTURE TO REMEMBER is an essayistic account of a family's long journey through the war. It chronicles the search for a way to handle terrible and recurring losses experienced by three generations of Ukrainian women - those of the director, her mother, and of her grandmother.
SYNOPSIS
Originally from Donetsk - an industrial city in eastern Ukraine – the family was uprooted in 2014 when the Russian war against Ukraine first commenced. By 2022, the same enemy once again began knocking on the door of their new home -which was now in Kyiv- and once again destroyed everything that the family had worked so hard to rebuild. Thrown into the void of unknown future the director (she is also the narrator of the film) dives into a kaleidoscope of memories and chronicles both her personal and collective familial search for something to hold on to amid these turbulent times.
DIRECTOR
Olga Chernykh
PRODUCER
Regina Maryanovska-Davidzon
CO-PRODUCERS
Lauarence Uebersfeld
Flavia Oertwig
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Real Pictures LLC
CO-PRODUCTION COMPANIES
Tama Filmproduktion
LuFilms
COUNTRIES
Ukraine
Germany
France
Olga Chernyk
OLGA CHERNYK was born in Donetsk, Ukraine in 1990. In 2017, she graduated with an MA from the Cinematography department of the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Karyi University. After she received a postgraduate diploma in Documentary Filmmaking, she has taken part in several international workshops and residency programs such as IDFA Academy, the Aristoteles Workshop (RO), CinemAmbulente (IT), Eurasiadoc (UA), B2B Docs, etc. She was awarded a Special prize in the International Papaya Young Directors competition in Poland. And received a award for the same video at the Kinooko Festival in Kyiv.
As a director I’m interested in exploring themes that are located on the border between art and philosophy, film and poetry, documentary and fiction. Now I’m on the way to explore the topic of memory. I’m rethinking my own experience of war, death and alienation through the heroes of my film. And I’m looking to understand the nature of human resistance to various different kinds of trauma. This particular film is very personal for me because I am working with my own family and their stories as well as with my own story. So it is a kind of challenge for me to find a balance between a personal voice and the representation of collective events that have been happening in Ukraine over the last several decades - as told through a family story.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Regina Maryanovska
REGINA MARYANOVSKA-DAVIDZON was born in Odessa. She is a producer and a cultural project manager, a well as having been co-founder and Editor of The Odessa Review magazine. She holds an MA in documentary filmmaking from Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis (2010). Regina has carried out production and service projects in various countries, including France and the USA. In parallel to her production work, Regina is constantly pursuing the training programs such as the EURODOC, b2b doc, etc.
Production company profile
REAL PICTURES was founded in 2019 by Oleksiy Gladushevskyy and Regina Maryanovska Davidzon. The company’s core vision is a strong belief in the creativity, originality and potential of a new generation of emerging filmmakers across Eastern Europe. We are seeking original projects with a strong social message that would inspire the audience to believe that cinema can indeed change the world.
Where are we at?
PRODUCTION BUDGET
185.507 EUR
NEEDED FOR COMPLETION
52.000 EUR
TERRITORIES AVAILABLE
Northern Europe, Southern Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Middle East
EXPECTED RELEASE
January 2024
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