When the Trees Fall
2018 / feature film / UA-PL-MK
About
In a stagnant Ukrainian village, rebellious teen Larysa defies tradition by loving ex-con Scar, but their dream of escaping a life of misery is complicated by village disapproval and Scar’s criminal ties, forcing Larysa and her young cousin Vitka to confront their harsh reality and potential escape, while a mysterious curse looms over their pursuit of freedom.
Film named it as one of the 30 “most iconic” films since Ukraine’s independence, was praised in The Hollywood Reporter as “bursting with audacity, flair and energetic promise.” The San Francisco Chronicle called „When The Trees Fall” a “deliriously lyrical, sexy fable” and said “the final frames are breathtaking.”
Festivals & Awards
- 2018 / Berlin IFF Panorama section
world premiere
Best debut
The Panorama audience award
The “World of Cinema” award
The Gainer Karov award
and three awards from film critic associations - 2018 / Warsaw Film Festival
- 2018 / Odesa International Film Festival
Best acting performance - 2018 / National Ukrainian Film Critics Award “Kinokolo”
Discovery of the Year - 2019 / International Film Festival of India
Silver Peacock for Best Actress - 2019 / National Ukrainian Film Award Golden Dzyga
Best edit - 2016 / Cannes Film Festival
Krzysztof Kieslowski Script Award for Best Film Script from Central and Eastern Europe
Credits
| Director | Marysia Nikitiuk |
| Cinematography | Michał Englert, Mateusz Wichłacz |
| Editing | Blaze Dulev, Milenia Fielder, Ivan Bannikov |
| Music | Mykyta Moiseiev |
| Production design | Vlad Dudko |
| Costume design | Kostyantyn Kravets |
| Make up | Tetyana Khoroshun, Tetyana Bovt |
| Cast | Anastasiia Pustovit, Sonya Khalaimova, Maksym Samchyk, Mariia Svizhynska, Petro Pastukhov, Mariia Trepikova, Yevgeni Grygoriev, Aelita-Viktoriia Avierman, Alla Samoylenko, Ivan Blindar |
| Producers | Igor Savychenko, Roman Klympush, Volodymyr Fillipov, Serge Lavrenyuk (Ukraine), Dariusz Jabłoński, Violetta Kamińska, Izabela Wójcik (Poland), Darko Basheski (Macedonia), Antonio Saura, Oscar Alonso, Juan Torres, Marta Hernando (Spain) |
| Production company | Directory Films |
| Co-production | Message Film, Latido Films, Fokus In, Solar Media |
| Co-financing | Ukrainian State Film Agency, Polish Film Institute, Macedonian Film Agency |
| World sales | Latido Films |
Poster
