THE BASEMENT
France, Ukraine 2024 – Director: Roman Blazhan – Original language: Ukrainian – Subtitles: English – Length: 78 min.
341 people, 160 square metres, 27 days. A Ukrainian village is locked in a cellar, the livestock killed, the farms devastated. One year later everything appears peaceful. The dogs are running around and the gardens are green but the wounds have barely healed. The children play war; the adults fluctuate between getting on with things and remembering. “Enjoy. Don’t drown.” A testimony to strength and solidarity. Helga-Mari Steininger
Notice: This film contains explicit depictions of violence, death and war.
Biography
Roman Blazhan, born in Donetsk, is a documentary film director and producer who initially worked in finance. After the outbreak of war, he lost his home and started all over again, finding his passion for film. He has been living in Germany since 2022.
Filmography (selection)
GENERATION UKRAINE, UA/DE 2023, 52 min.
ENTER THROUGH THE BALCONY, UA 2019, 25 min.
Nominated for the VIKTOR Main Competition DOK.international
Slices of life, insights and perspectives: The films of the International Competition open doors to new worlds for us. They compete for the award VIKTOR Main Competition, which is endowed with 10,000 euros. The award donor is Bayerischer Rundfunk.
No youth rating
Camera: Mikhail Volkov / Adriy Noha. Sound: Victor Konkevych. Editing: Matthieu Augustin. Music: Jérôme Rebotier / Geoffroy Berlioz. Production: Elda Prodcutions. Producer: Christilla Huillard-Kann. International Sales: Andana Films.