Vitaly Mansky met in Riga with renowned European photographer and filmmaker Mila Teshaieva, who has lived in Germany for many years. In the first days of the full-scale war, while many people were leaving Ukraine, Mila headed there instead to make her first documentary film, “Shards of Light,” which was presented in the Artdocfest programme. What can photography tell us about war — and where do the possibilities of photography end and the territory of cinema begin? Why is film essential when the aim is not simply to tell a story, but to raise questions and encourage the audience to keep thinking? This is a conversation about “photo-cinema,” documentary observation, contradictions and human choices, about how people change under the pressure of circumstances and how the past relates to the future. Mila Teshaieva talks about her attitude towards the war, her work on the film, photography and Russian cinema about the war, as well as her physical aversion to contemporary Russia and the impossibility of working with something you do not love.

Les habitants de Boutcha, en Ukraine, reconstruisent leur ville à partir des décombres après avoir survécu aux horreurs de l'occupation russe. Un couple de jeunes mariés, une écolière, un fonctionnaire municipal et une femme au foyer âgée ont tous enduré les épreuves douloureuses de la guerre, mais parviennent néanmoins à garder espoir et à rester solidaires. Mais comment reconstruire face à un traumatisme grandissant, d’autant plus que la guerre fait toujours rage dans leur pays ?

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The residents of Bucha, Ukraine, are rebuilding their city from the rubble after surviving the horrors of Russian occupation.A newly married couple, a schoolgirl, a city official, and an elderly housewife have all endured the painful experiences of war, yet they manage to hold onto hope and solidarity. But how do you rebuild in the wake of growing trauma, especially with war still raging in your country? As time hopes for a peaceful life fade, they must grapple with mounting tensions within their communities. Shot over a three-year period, the film is a follow-up to When Spring Came To Bucha, as five protagonists navigate the complex terrain of inner conflicts, trauma, and a longing for justice, posing questions about the future of a society at war.

After 35 days of fierce fighting the Russian army retreated from Kyiv region. The damage was huge: buildings had been destroyed and hundreds of killed civilians buried in gardens and mass graves. The movie follows various residents as they pick themselves up from the smoldering ruins, in the very first weeks of the aftermath chaos. The dead get identified, debris is cleared, and prosecutors start talking about a war tribunal. At first, all is panic, despair, and sadness accompanied by sheer bafflement that they have been attacked by a country with so many ties. But as the first blossoms of spring start appearing, these Ukrainians also reveal their resilience.