Christmas Stories

February 23, 2022, a small town near Kyiv. Taras (35) and Olia (32) spend the first night in their new apartment. At dawn, they wake up from the explosions. They fail to leave the town on time, meanwhile, the Russian troops arrange headquarters in their building. The couple finds themselves trapped in their flat with no electricity, water, and mobile connection. For the next 5 days, Taras and Olia will explore the black abyss of real intimacy between two people and face crucial existential questions in mortal danger.

On a warm fall day, a construction worker decides to have a lunch break, a young girl takes care of her elderly grandmother, a film director tries to edit his documentary footage.

Ukraine, 1996. 5 months before the moratorium on capital punishment, two old friends, a police detective and a forensic psychiatrist, investigate a murder of their colleague. Long time ago, both of them were in love with the widow of the deceased. Immersed in the complicated case and long forgotten memories, they create a future where their children have to live, inheriting unrealized aspirations of their parents.

Young cello player Nastya is besotted with Yura and wants him to be her "first". But this can be too much for some men, so Nastya has to think carefully about her strategy.

Detective conducts the surveillance for a young man. After a time he discovers his dealer, however the dealer appears to be very creative in his business and a legal agent exceeds his instructions in methods of dealing with crimes. As a result, this encourages the dealer's reckless behavior, which attacks his prodigal father who just appears in the wrong place and the wrong time. He just wanted to give his son a hug.

Lyuba works at a confectionery factory. Her son is in the war zone and there is no connection with him. Lyuba goes in search of his son in an unfamiliar territory.

One extraordinary technical break. A report with no cuts.

Wartime Kyiv. A father helps his daughter to practice driving. They are the only relatives to each other and have a strong connection, but many disagreements in their opinions. The driving lesson ceases to be ordinary when the father is issued a summons at a checkpoint.

Tymofii is a little pickpocket. He lives his normal life until he suddenly falls in love with the next on the lady station officer at the Teatralna station.

Despite himself, a doctor has to go with his young patient in the mountains. He will never forget this trip. Through a "mise en abyme" of the filmic process by an original method that reveals what the protagonist is filming, we are constantly rocked between the freshness of the film and the drama being played.

Valentina works in Lichtenstein. She lived in Kyiv until the age of 13. In 1996, during a hard transitive economic period in Ukraine, Valentina emigrated to Switzerland with her mother and stepfather. 20 years have passed.

Another visit to the doctor happens to be unsuccessful for Maria. Her marriage is on the verge of destruction. Deceiving her husband, she gradually realizes that she lives in a lie, and increasingly retreats into herself to look for forgotten answers.

During the political crisis in the Ukraine, young parents are going through a tough divorce. The mother wishes to emigrate with her child, but the father can't imagine living without his son.

For the first time in several years, a father with his son decided to have dinner together. Will they be able to find a common language?

Young people of Russian minority in Riga having a New Year and Millennium party. Everything looks even too much typical: sparklers, bright dresses, sparkling wine and fireworks. At least one thing might be questionable for the viewer: why these people listening anthem of USSR in loop?