Funeralzzi

Natasha is a quiet force - a Ukrainian migrant in her late 40s, who has spent nearly 15 years in Milan building an unusual life as an undertaker - repatriating the bodies of Ukrainians who die far from home. She and her husband Sergei have settled into their roles: she manages all care work, preparing the bodies of deceased for their final journey across borders, offering solace to the grieving families, handling the bureaucracy; he does the driving. Together they are a well-oiled if modest operation.But when Russia invades Ukraine in 2022, Natasha’s life begins to unravel. Her elderly father is stranded in occupied territory, unreachable for six agonizing months. At the same time, Sergei brings his adult daughter to live with them in Milan - one more person who relies on Natasha’s care without giving much back. The fragile balance of her life collapses under the weight of responsibility, war, grief, and emotional betrayal.When Kharkyv Oblast is liberated and her father finally calls, Natasha rushes to Ukraine. They share a month of profound bonding under daily bombardment - a homecoming, a farewell, and a reawakening all at once.What follows is nothing short of a quiet revolution: her father’s death becomes the turning point Natasha didn’t know she was waiting for - a rupture and a rebirth. She leaves Sergei, falls unexpectedly in love with the undertaker who buries her father, and at the age of 48 and under sustained military attacks, makes the fearless decision to become a mother. Conceiving in Ukraine and giving birth in Milan, Natasha continues her work with the dead — only now, carrying life as well.Funeralzzi is a universal story of how loss can be transformed into love, but above all, an intimate story of a woman who, surrounded by death, finds the courage to choose life on her own terms.