Quiet Drive

A bark beetle girl, who should be spending her days relaxing in a forest, sees her world upended when a fire separates her from her family and traps her in a city where all the dangers are gigantic.

The film takes place on the eighth day of Russia's war campaign in Ukraine. Eight Ukrainians residing in the Czech Republic – a businesswoman, cleaning ladies, construction workers, and bus drivers – make their own diary-like observations of the events in their homeland. They continue to bury themselves in their work, unable to afford to withdraw themselves from their current lives. In their minds, however, they've transported themselves hundreds of kilometers away, helping their fellow countrymen and women by any means necessary. They provide accommodation for refugees, scout for bulletproof vests, and call their loved ones who’ve taken shelter from falling bombs. They have a hectic and emotionally overwhelming 24 hours ahead of them. But it’s not the first 24 hours and it won’t be the last.

Three years after emigrating to the US, now with foreign agent status, I return to the stage, trying to make sense of this new reality and reflect on what's happening around me. The show was filmed in May 2025 by Alina Pyazok.