Olena Morentsova-Shulyk

A young girl, cook Varia, loses her job because no one needs her haute cuisine in a roadside café. Sweet, energetic, witty – she runs as far away from home as possible in search of realization! But an unexpected discovery – a book by the forgotten legend of Ukrainian cuisine Olha Franko changes her life forever and inspires her to go local, instead of trendy!

Zhenye and Anatoliy Pilipenko’s dream of a quiet place in the country is shattered overnight when Russia invades Ukraine. As rockets fall and fires rage, they face an impossible choice: flee the violence or stay and protect their home. When a soldier on his way to the frontline asks the couple if they can care for his goats – all 37 of them – while he fights in the trenches; their home transforms into the largest animal sanctuary in Eastern Ukraine. From rescued chickens, displaced donkeys, wandering horses and even emus, Anatoliy and Zhenye risk their lives and livelihoods to rescue any part of Ukraine they can. Told primarily through verité, amidst constant danger, heartbreaking loss and improbably an inextinguishable reservoir of hope, Zhenye and Anatoliy’s sanctuary stands as a defiant testament to the unbreakable bond between a nation, its people, and the land they refuse to surrender.

This documentary about the Zhovten Cinema in Kyiv, which was constructed in 1931 and is one of the city's oldest, tells about how such spaces can function as cultural gathering points and the heritage of a country. The Zhovten Cinema in Kyiv is a unique opportunity to understand how a cinema can symbolize cultural resistance and identity. Zhovten (the name means October) becomes a cultural beacon and refuge, where the film becomes a bridge between past and present and local and global perspectives.