Karina Kazaryan

A family of British descent settled in the Russian countryside is investigating its grandfather's mysterious death. One small step for men, women, children, dogs, and pigs - one giant leap for humanity.

The demonstrators on the streets of Moscow in July 2019 want just one thing: fair elections. Despite their peaceful protest, 2,700 activists are arrested and hundreds are injured. The active camera places the viewer at the heart of the demonstrations, among the pushing and shoving of the chanting crowds. “You should be protecting us!” shouts a young woman at a soldier, and two big men come and take her away.

The film Broken Ties, by independent Russian filmmaker Andrei Loshak, is an unflinching portrayal of families divided by war. It features seven different pairings, whose members speak periodically with Loshak, one-to-one, to explain their points of view. Their conversations extend over the war's first three months, during which time their opinions evidence no change. The film makes no attempt at dialogue -- on the contrary, it is a testimony to the absence of dialogue amidst an unfolding war, and an unsentimental diagnosis of the sickness of a society in which official propaganda proves stronger than even the most intimate family ties.

In a forest river, hunters find the body of a young singer named Yanka Diaghilev. From that moment on, a confusing chronicle of the last day in the girl's life begins, during which she will travel a long way - from the city to the dacha, and then into the thicket to the river. On this day, Yanka will have time to see and talk with many people, real and imaginary, even with those who are no longer alive. It seems that Yankee's next step is about to shed light on the circumstances of her mysterious death: hopeless love, arguments with loved ones, disagreements with herself, strange meetings with strangers in the forest.