MARIA IGNATENKO
ACHROME
2022. Film, 96' .
A dream-like reflection on the nature and legacy of war, expressed at the boundary between cinema and video art. Drawing on accounts of World War II, the film explores the dreamlike nature of the past. The attempt at conveying the fabric of this dream by cinematic means is at the core of the film’s aesthetics. How do we access the elusive past and make it tangible?
Festivals, screening, awards (selected): International Film Festival Rotterdam (2022)
XIX Panorama Internacional Coisa de Cinema, Best feature film (2023)
Listapad Minsk International Film Festival, Best Cinematography (2022)
Patriki Film Festival (Moscow), Grand Prix (2022) Andrei Tarkovsky International Film Festival (2022)
Press (selective): https://variety.com/2022/film/global/achrome-maria- ignatenko-rotterdam-1235172960/ https://goldenglobes.com/articles/rotterdam-2022- achrome-sound-white/ https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2022/films/achrome https://meduza.io/feature/2022/01/28/prizrachno- belyy-sumrachnaya-drama-o-holokoste-v-stranah- baltii-i-moralnom-vybore-vo-vremya-voyny
IN DEEP SLEEP
2020. Film, 71' .
A parable in which two layers of current-day Russian reality collide and mix. One is represented by a court process: the film begins and ends with court hearings where no one is heard, adding to the endless chronicles of Russian indictment trials.
The other layer is lethargy, shown through the portrayal of a vast land stiffened with permafrost and inhabited by people who live – or rather exist – in permanent slumber.
Festivals, screening, awards (selected):
Berlinale (2020) Kinotavr Sochi (2020) Pacific Meridian International Film Festival, Best Asian Film (2020) Trieste Film Festival (2020) Riga International Film Festival (2020)
Press (selective):
https://www.berlinale.de/en/2020/ programme/202001424.html
https://seance.ru/articles/in-deep-sleep/
https://www.kino-zeit.de/film-kritiken-trailerstreaming/in-deep-sleep-2020
YUHA
2015. Film, 29' .
A film about obsession and despair, the dark side of true love. The protagonist, a guy named Yuha, breaks into an apartment looking for money and valuables to steal. That night, things don’t go as planned. Upon leaving, Yuha bumps into the owner herself, a young woman who becomes the object of his infatuation. He watches and follows her furtively in the crowd. But once alone with her, Yuha can only explain himself through violence.
