Dmytro Sukhetskyi

Oleg's painstaking search for freedom is interrupted by the sudden return of his ex-girlfriend back to Ukraine, calling into question Oleg's lifestyle in the context of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Vasyl lives in a remote Carpathian village, where he bears responsibility for the household and helps his mother with traditional coverlets fulling. One evening, his younger brother Ivan arrives unexpectedly at the family home. Ivan is a gay soldier who, before being deployed to a front-line position, wishes to discuss his last will. In the event of his death, he asks to be cremated by his partner in Kyiv, rather than laid to rest in the village soil where he was never truly accepted. This request stands in direct opposition to local traditions. Vasyl finds himself torn between honoring his brother’s final wish and conforming to what is considered morally and culturally right.

The sweet sleep of a couple is interrupted when they witness the beating of a young girl beneath the windows of their home. Now they try to preserve the calm of their warm bedroom while, outside, reality cracks and splinters — a reality better left untouched, because it will stink.