Born in Mariupol in 1970, she worked for over 25 years for the leading television channels in Ukraine. In 2014, she opened a new chapter in her life by leaving television and immersing herself in screenwriting and filmmaking.&nbsp;Her first documentary works were short pieces for the INVISIBLE BATTALION anthology film in collaboration with the directors Alina Gorlova and Iryna Tsilyk. A BIT OF A STRANGER is her debut feature-length documentary and is based on her personal story.

Svitlana (52), the film's director and protagonist, grew up in Mariupol during the Soviet era, when all individuality was suppressed. Later, even living in Kiev in independent Ukraine, she was unable to find a clear self-identity, which influenced the fact that Svitlana's daughter Alexandra (28) grew up without an inner core and was therefore vulnerable to any propaganda.&nbsp;There are four generations of women in Svitlana's family, and each generation grew up under different political realities. Svitlana's mother, Valentina (76), has a more Ukrainian identity than Svitlana's daughter, who has a pro-Russian orientation. Time will tell who Sveta's granddaughter, Stephanie (2), will become.The family gathers in Kiev to celebrate little Stefania's birthday 10 days before the full-scale invasion. Valentina arrives in Kiev from Mariupol, destined never to return.&nbsp;The war destroys the family's life, its past and its future. The house where Valentina lived and where Svitlana and Alexandra grew up is destroyed, and in occupied Mariupol time begins to go back to the USSR.Alexandra and her daughter Stefania leave for the UK. Despite the war Alexandra continues to be in the Russian information field. Alexandra is comforted by the Russian language, as it is the only thing she has left from the past. Svitlana stays with Valentina in Kiev, where the fragile peaceful picture can be destroyed at any moment by the arrival of a Russian missile. With the onset of cold weather, power, heat, and communication blackouts begin. On dark winter evenings, Svitlana talks to Valia about the past. Images of life in a totalitarian society that was imbued with violence against the individual resurface before Svitlana.In London, Alexandra experiences a severe existential crisis, she feels lost, like a nobody. She starts visiting a psychologist to work through her resentment towards Svitlana. To support her, Valentina decides to leave Ukraine and join her granddaughter in the UK. Svitlana stays in Kiev, which is preparing for another dark and cold winter.

Together and one-by-one at the same time, four generations of Ukrainian women from one family embark on an emotional journey shaped by their newfound memories and family history.

A Bit of a Stranger

English

Svitlana

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Biography

Filmography

A Bit of a Stranger