Total Mess

In today’s Ukraine, a vast informal economy shapes the lives of many young people. Fast money, informal services, and scam call centres targeting Russians offer high incomes and temporary relief in a world defined by instability.

Dasha, 21, is a single mother whose husband, a Ukrainian soldier, is missing in action. She moves between unstable housing, childcare, drug use, and the pursuit of quick income. She previously worked in a call centre and, despite stepping away to care for her child, remains drawn to the temporary stability it offered.

Sonya, 22, moves fluidly within the same world. Connected to people in scam offices, she has built an online persona shaped by visibility and money. She promotes call centre work through her provocative blog while negotiating boundaries and pressure.

The film observes a recurring ritual of the phone call between swindler and victim, revealing how staged empathy and psychological pressure become routine. An “invisible” collective voice of the office emerges, showing the pressure shaping callers as much as victims.
TOTAL MESS follows these two women while seeking a third perspective: a young man currently working inside a call centre, offering a view from within the system. The film explores why people enter this world: risk, adrenaline or short-term survival, and how life in these structures reshapes everyone involved.