The incredible life story of a Soviet soldier who was captured by the Nazis during WWII. His daughter Sana searches the past to understand her silent father. As she accompanies Sana in her journey, the filmmaker excavates film archives, to find traces of those millions of Soviet soldiers, who fell victim of two dictators: Hitler and Stalin. Through the technique of ‘re-appropriating the archive’, the filmmaker searches for the soul of the image, for those subtle remnants of those millions who were omitted from the narrative of the war. Softly, but determinately the film starts breaking sixty years of silence.

Dir. Aliona van der Horst - 93min - 2021 - Netherlands

"an extraordinary tale, arguably worthy of Boris Pasternak and David Lean....An arresting and poignant story from a wartime nightmare that continued silently for years after peace had been declared. The title is taken from Sayar’s own recorded determination in the icy gulag to turn his body to the sun wherever possible" - Guardian

"As she reappropriates the archival footage...the filmmaker searches for the soul of the image, for those small and subtle remnants of a massive, yet casually omitted, human tragedy. Softly, but determinately the film starts unfolding this history, breaking sixty years of silence." - IDFA

"An evocation of a time when man’s cruelty seemed to know no bounds, or repercussions" - ScreenDaily