We are pleased to announce that the Silver Eye Award at Millennium Docs Against Gravity has been awarded to Ukrainian project Eyelashes and Sand Crystals by Daryna Mamaisur on May 11 during MDAG Industry Award Ceremony, marking the conclusion of this year’s Short Pitch Program. The film offers a poetic portrait of a botanical collection displaced by war and the scientists who, despite uncertain conditions, continue their work to preserve knowledge and memory.
"A poetic and visually arresting meditation on fragility, memory, and cultural resilience, this film explores the quiet determination of Ukrainian scholars preserving a botanical collection uprooted by war. Through an experimental lens, it reflects on the distortion of time and the silent labor of care in the face of destruction — offering a bold, cinematic perspective on the invisible costs of conflict," the jury explained their selection.
Winning the Silver Eye Award is a significant recognition for Eyelashes and Sand Crystals. The award celebrates short documentary projects that push creative boundaries, highlight urgent social issues, and present bold, original perspectives. It supports directors with innovative approaches and a willingness to engage with complex topics. As part of the award, the winning project receives not only a trophy but also a year-long festival distribution service through the East Silver Caravan, offering invaluable exposure across international documentary film festivals.
Eyelashes and Sand Crystals (dir. Daryna Mamaisur, Ukraine, 2025, 25’)
The Herbarium of Kherson State University, one of the largest collections of lichens, vascular, and bryophyte plants from southern Ukraine and Crimea, was evacuated to Precarpathian National University in Ivano-Frankivsk after Kherson’s deoccupation. The film Eyelashes and Sand Crystals focuses on the unique case of the "herbarium in exile" and the work of scholars who continue collecting samples despite lacking a place to store them. It is an experiment to translate visually the role of Kherson’s collection in the distorted temporality of war: where the present competes with the past, and where memory itself is threatened.
