Section: Spectrum

Медовий місяць

HONEYMOON

Zhanna Ozirna
UA, 2024, 84 Min

Newly married, Taras and Olya celebrate moving into their new apartment, unaware that it is the evening before the Russian war of aggression. Their residential complex is occupied overnight, the Russian army sets up quarters in the same building. The apartment becomes at once a safe haven and a prison; any excessive noise can mean death. An oppressively meticulous, suspenseful chamber drama on the narrow line between life and death.

#drama #crisis #friendship
FFC(C)

Performance

2025-11-05 | 10:30
Weltspiegel Saal 2
2025-11-08 | 16:15
Weltspiegel Saal 2

When the Russian army sets up its headquarters in Taras and Olya's apartment building, the happy young couple has no choice but to lock themselves in their own apartment. For five days, they are forced to live without electricity, water, or contact with the outside world – five days in which they oscillate between pragmatic planning, moments of tenderness, and sheer panic. The apartment is transformed into a safe haven that simultaneously suffocates them; every step and every sound has the potential to betray them. Voices from outside penetrate the confines of their home: a neighbour warns of explosions, calls from abroad promise help yet warn against escalation. Taras's father, from the Russian side of his family, reacts with cynicism.

Inspired by the experiences of friends and acquaintances, director Zhanna Ozirna condenses these five days into a claustrophobic chamber drama, one lent expressive force by the precise use of silence and sound. Honeymoon sees the unfolding of a haunting portrait of a stolen togetherness: The carefree beginnings, as well as the dreams and plans for the future are forced to give way to mere survival; the love between the couple proves a source of strength whilst being put, at the same time, to an unimaginable test.

Text: Julia Schneider

 

MI 05.11. I 10:30 I WELTSPIEGEL SAAL 2 I original version with English and German subtitles

SA 08.11. I 16:15 I WELTSPIEGEL SAAL 2 I original version with English and German subtitles

Drehbuch
Zhanna Ozirna
Kamera
Volodymyr Usyk
Ton
Serhiy Stepansky
Schnitt
Zhanna Ozirna, Philip Sotnychenko
Ausstattung
Marharyta Kulyk
Musik
Anton Dehtiarov
Darsteller
Ira Nirsha, Roman Lutskyi
Produzent
Dmytro Sukhanov
Produktion
TOY CINEMA
Zhanna Ozirna

Zhanna Ozirna - Zhanna Ozirna (1986) is a Ukrainian director and screenwriter based in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Member of the Ukrainian Film Academy and the Guild of Directors of Ukraine. Berlinale Talents alumna (Berlin, 2020), the resident of Cité internationale des arts and Les Récollets  (Paris, 2022), the Marathon Screenings (Los Angeles, 2023). Co-screenwriter of the Polish-Ukrainian project of the TV series "Unspoken", in February 2023 it got the main prize for the best pitching at Series Mania in Lille, France.

The development of Ozirna’s feature film project Ground Zero was supported by Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and took part in numerous prestigious workshops and co-production platforms such as La Fabrique Cinéma 2022, Cinemart 2021 (IFF Rotterdam), Brussels Bozar Industry Day 2021, New Horizons Studio+ 2021, ScripTeast 2021, Pustnik 2020 and 2022 (for alumni).

In September 2021 Ukrainian film state agency confirmed the majority support of Ground Zero. The shooting was postponed because of the russian full-scale invasion and now is planned for August-September 2025.

In 2023 a new feature film project Honeymoon was presented at WEMW co-production platform at Trieste, Italy and connecting cottbus, East-West co-production market at the FilmFestival Cottbus. Honeymoon was selected and financed by Biennale College Cinema, a program for the micro-budget feature-length films, and had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2024.

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