Mariinka - English subtitles

Young Ukrainians from the frontline town of Mariinka face a decade of war that divides their families and derails their fates. An epic and visionary masterpiece filmed over 10 years.

MARIINKA begins long before the world watched the full-scale invasion. In eastern Ukraine, the film traces several young Ukrainians whose lives have been forever shaped by more than 10 years of war and conflict in the Donbas region.

Amidst the war a promising boxing talent turns military paramedic, a girl is smuggling unexpected goods across the frontline to survive, and as in a Greek tragedy, two brothers now fight on opposite sides of the front line – against each other – while their youngest brother lives in safety far from the war with a foster family in the United States. Through letters, videocalls and silent meetings, a story unfolds about belonging, national loyalty and the fault lines where political conflicts can trump even the bonds of blood.

Director Pieter-Jan De Pue is an exceptional storyteller and filmmaker who manages to anchor timeless themes in the harsh realities of our own times. With an almost biblical undertone and deeply original imagery, ‘MARIINKA’ captures the slow erasure of a city, and the fierce, tragic endurance of those who once called it home.

Text: CPH:DOX