Three East Silver Caravan titles are included in the programme of Pärnu Film Festival (June 24 - July 7): How Big is the Galaxy? (dir. Ksenia Elyan), My Father Is My Mother's Brother (dir. Vadym Ilkov) and Between Us (dir. Maciej Miller).
My Father Is My Mother's Brother (2018), directed by Vadym Ilkov, received the Régionyon Jury Prize for the most innovative feature film at Visions du réel and was screened at Hot Docs, DocuDays, Millenium and other international film festivals. Cineuropa called it "aesthetically fascinating film that respectfully and courageously tells the story of a modern family struggling with the difficulties, but above all, the joys of life." Vadym Ilkov is known for his camera work in Roman Bondarchuk's Volcano and Mantas Kvedaravicius' Mariupolis (2016). He debuted with Waltz Alchevsk (2015), My Father Is My Mother's Brother is Ilkov's first feature documentary.
In this touching family narrative, a bohemian singer/artist becomes a father to his five-year-old niece when his sister's mental health deteriorates, and finds himself awkwardly balancing fairy tales and playtime with his rowdy nightlife and provocative art.
Ksenia Elyan's How Big is the Galaxy? (2018) has recently won the ECFA Award at Zlín Film Festival because of the "realistic rendition of a day to day life of the vanishing indigenous Dolgan tribe. At the same time the film is reminding us to the fact that childhood is beautiful no matter where you live - in a tundra or in a megalopolis.” The film was previously screened at IDFA, goEast and DOKer. It is Ksenia Elyan's first feature documentary, she worked as cinematographer on The Term (2014) and My Friend Boris Nemtsov (2016).
Zakhar lives among the vast Arctic spaces of Siberia, 100 miles away from human dwellings. He is 7, but he has his own reindeer and tundra for pasture. One day his nomad family is joined by a teacher who is supposed to give Zakhar and his brother a standard set of knowledge, but Zakhar craves answers to millions questions about the world.
Between Us (2017), a short graduation film by Maciej Miller, was awarded at Busan ISFF and Montaż Film Festiwal. Other festival screenings include Bogotá Short Film Festival and Tirana IDFF. The film was nominated for Silver Eye Award.
A young couple in their 20s are expecting a child but don’t know they will cope. Faced with unexpected pressures and emotions they decide to separate and give the child up for adoption. They do not make this decision easily, with only two months remaining until the baby is due.
Find all the details about the festival, founded 32 years ago at the initiative of then-documentarian, the late Estonian President Lennart Meri. Discover more about East Silver here.