Russian-born director Aleksey Lapin travels back to his relatives' home village near the Ukrainian border, where the film crew introduce themselves at a specially organised musical event, claiming that they have come to cast a historical film. It is the occasion for an affectionate, semi-fictional local portrait with a sense for the absurd.

Dir. Aleksey Lapin - 123min - 2021 - Austria

"a gently immersive film that takes the audience on an engagingly oddball journey" - Business Doc Europe

"frequently fascinating" - The Film Verdict

"a beautiful movie: one of true cinema" - Viennale

"The cinematography in black and white is notable...Lapin’s feature-length debut is not only an affectionate local portrait with a sense for the absurd, but also a film about film: In a long dialogue by the river, two protagonists talk about cinema as an art form and how it is changing" - DOL Leipzig