When Lightning Flashes Over the Sea

In this meditative, kaleidoscopic portrait, Eva Neymann observes the rich inner lives of the residents of Odesa, Ukraine’s iconic port city on the shore of the Black Sea. An unexpected form of record-keeping, the film documents the hopes, desires and memories of the people she finds on the war-ravaged streets and in homes without electricity, reaching into the realm of the invisible to understand the emotional consequences of the 2022 Russian invasion. Patterns gradually emerge across these accounts: families yearning to be united, individuals dreaming of a home they can no longer return to, children imagining utopian possibilities, the sanctity of life. The young consider the absurdity and madness of the war, while the elderly return to conflicts of the past and mourn for their loved ones. Drawing on a range of different experiences, from adolescent boys and concerned neighbours to mourning widows, WHEN LIGHTNING FLASHES OVER THE SEA presents an unlikely but vital snapshot of the resilient spirits that continue to remember and dream amidst uncertainty and destruction. (Winnie Wang)

In the presence of Eva Neymann.
On October 25th at 4.30 pm, a talk with Eva Neymann will take place at the Metro Kinokulturhaus/Kinosalon.

Eva Neymann: FREEZE, THAW (2001, K), EVERYTHING AS USUAL (2004, K), SEEING THE SEA (2005, K), WAYS OF GOD (2007), BY THE RIVER (2007), THE HOUSE WITH A TURRET (2012), SONG OF SONGS (2015), PRYVOZ (2021)