Section: Feature Film Competition

POD WULKANEM

UNDER THE VOLCANO

Damian Kocur
PL, 2024, 105 Min

A family from Kyiv on holiday on the island of Tenerife. Shortly before their return journey, they receive the news that war has broken out at home and their flight has been cancelled. Temporarily trapped in a sheltered paradise, they struggle with their situation. Daughter Sofia in particular suffers from her outsider status as a teenager, foreigner and, most recently, refugee.

#feature #drama #family

Performance

2024-11-06 | 21:30
Weltspiegel Großer Saal
2024-11-07 | 10:00
Weltspiegel Saal 2

At first glance, the patchwork family is stranded in paradise. They are even allowed to stay in the hotel for free. Yet no one can enjoy a holiday if their homeland is under attack and their relatives and friends are on a train west or seeking refuge in a bunker. What is to happen next? Why is no one here interested in what is happening at home and the Russian invasion of Ukraine? Should they return home or stay put? Is a shared future even possible? Sofia's father and his wife argue endlessly about these questions as well as matters of lesser significance. Meanwhile, the 15-year-old daughter increasingly isolates herself and goes her own way

As in his debut BREAD AND SALT (an entry to the FFC 2022 Feature Film Competition), Damian Kocur narrates a story about people like me and you told with assiduous attention to detail and a documentary-like approach with its almost transitionless scenes, captured as if in passing, tungsten light and elaborate effects which, owing to their everyday nature, strike a chord with the viewer.

The dormant volcano Pico del Teide towers in the background. It underlines how far removed the family (still) seems to be from the horror unfolding back home, whilst also symbolising how much is simmering under the surface of sun, sand and street parties.

Text: Rainer Mende

06.11.2024 | 21:30 | Weltspiegel Großer Saal (original version with English and German subtitles)

07.11.2024 | 10:00 | Weltspiegel Saal 2 (original version with English and German subtitles)

Drehbuch
Damian Kocur, Marta Konarzewska
Kamera
Nikita Kuzmienko
Ton
Serhii Avdieiev
Schnitt
Alan Zejer
Darsteller
Sofiia Berezovska,
Roman Lutskyi,
Anastasiia Karpienko,
Fedir Pugachov
Produzent
Mikolaj Lizut, Agnieszka Jastrzębska
Produktion
izart Films, Hawk Art, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), TVP
Co-Produktion
Grzegorz Sloniewski, Michal Maksym
Damian Kocur

Damian Kocur - Director, scriptwriter, and cinematographer. PhD student at the Łódź Film School. He is the author of several internationally awarded short films. His debut feature film BREAD AND SALT (2022) was awarded the Special Jury Prize in the Orizzonti competition at the Venice Film Festival 2022, Cairo IFF, Antalya IFF, Cottbus Film Festival, and many more. His last short film AS IT WAS was nominated for Palme d'Or at Cannes 2023.