It is July 2014. Suddenly, there’s a wall missing from Irka and Tolik’s house near the village of Hrabove in the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine. The wall is an early casualty of the hostilities on the Russian-Ukrainian border. But even when the Malaysia Airways Flight 17 passenger jet is shot down nearby, pregnant Irka still wants to stay put in her home. The uncompromising, formally remarkable Klondike nabbed the Sundance World Cinema Best Director prize for Maryna Er Gorbach and illustrates beyond all doubt that Ukraine has been at war with the Russian aggressor for nearly eight years. Just like the news reports on the 2022 Russian invasion, the film strongly depicts the severe impact of the conflict on the region’s civilians — in particular, the innocent women to whom the film is dedicated. Like Irka, Gorbach’s unblinking camera stands its ground, shooting unbroken takes that observe obscene violence and destruction with cold candor.
Director Biography
Maryna Er Gorbach’s films include Black Dogs After Barking (2009), No Ofsayt (2009), Love Me (2013), and Omar and Us (2015), all of which she co-directed with Mehmet Bahadir Er. Klondike (2022) is her most recent film and first solo project.
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