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Elie Grappe / Ukraine, France, Switzerland / 2021 / 85 mins
Olga is a talented 15-year-old Ukrainian gymnast with a bright future that might take her all the way to the Olympics. Given the chance to train in Switzerland, she leaves Kiev just as the Ukraine experiences unprecedented political turmoil. Ruthlessly focused on her training, Olga is left a distant bystander as her mother, an investigative journalist challenges a brutal regime.
Elie Grappe’s impressive debut is a subtle, tensely handled tale of exile reflecting the pressures on young athletes, the clash between the personal and the political, and a young woman’s search for who she is and what she is prepared to sacrifice.
“A compelling, smartly performed movie” – Kevin Maher, The Times
“Anastasia Budiashkina is excellent as a young athlete exiled during the 2014 revolution in this moving drama released to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees…in its unexpected way, this film speaks to the new agony of banishment now being felt by millions of Ukrainians, and to the profound unease and concern and impotence spreading westward across Europe.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
Cast: Anastasia Budiashkina, Sabrina Rubtsova, Caterina Barloggio
SACD Prize, Semaine de la Critique, Cannes Film Festival 2021
Audience Award, Brussels International Film Festival 2021
Best Actress, Gijon International Film Festival 2021
To view the full 13th Parish Festival programme, please click here.
