{"id":56407,"date":"2025-11-08T23:25:59","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T16:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ffd.or.id\/?p=56407"},"modified":"2025-11-08T23:25:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T16:25:59","slug":"shards-of-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ffd.or.id\/en\/film-review-en\/shards-of-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Frames from Bucha\u2019s Suburbia"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bucha massacre, committed by Russian forces who occupied the area in February 2022, and the subsequent withdrawal of Putin\u2019s troops along with the liberation of Kyiv\u2019s outskirts unfolded in late March of the same year. This tragedy left behind ruins of once-lived homes, disrupted routines, and devoured both distances and the lives of loved ones. For 3 years after Bucha\u2019s liberation from Russian occupation, directors Mila Teshaieva and Marcus Lenz gathered the remaining fragments of stories from war survivors, tracing the lingering emotions and the struggles they carry after what transpired in the suburban borderlands of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Shards of Light<\/em> (2025) is a fragmentary anthology compiling pieces from lives on the outskirts of Kyiv: Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel, that have been detached from Russian control. The series of stories brings together individuals and communities to portray the resilience of the people of Bucha\u2019s borders as they navigate everyday life amidst the war through their own spectrum of strengths. Exists a deluge of resilience draped within a naively stoic hope among the middle school students that are encouraged to reconfigure their wounds and violence into dance and theatre as a reflection towards war. Yet they are also forced to confront the grim reality that the lingering threat of mines, missiles, and explosive debris strips away their freedom to live their youth.<\/p>\n

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We also meet Olga and her husband\u2014retirees caring for their fellow neighbors after their apartment building was left in ruins. In return, they face accusations of treason against the state, based on the claim that Olga had \u201cnegotiated\u201d with Russian soldiers. Taras, living alone in Ukraine, had volunteered to document war casualties and assist on civilian relocation projects which distances him from his wife and daughter who are seeking refuge under the French asylum support. The newly married couple, Maxim and Ana, are separated by an indefinite stretch of time, consumed by ongoing anxiety and worry, only for Maxim to turn pale upon learning that his peers have vanished in the war. Feelings of frustration and anger towards the murderous forces and the layers of legal system tedium in investigating wartime killings\u2014which ironically stifles civilians more than combatants, adds further weight to the survivors\u2019 struggle for resilience and those who strive to restore the rights of civilian victims.<\/p>\n

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One of the film\u2019s most powerful moments takes place inside a classroom, where with gratitude and heartfelt hope, Olenka\u2014one that embodies Bucha\u2019s youthful spirit\u2014hoping for everything to be as it once was, expresses her joy and relief after seeing children still attending school, despite their homes destroyed, their communities scattered, and their political leaders turning their backs on them. The people of Bucha endured the three most harrowing years of their lives in the face of uncertainty and symptoms of violence. Yet, through the moments captured by Teshaieva and Lenz, we witness the strength of survivors that persists and devote their lives to seek justice for those they have lost. (Gantar Sinaga) (Ed. Vanis\/Trans. Timmie)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Film Details <\/strong>
\nShards of Light (\u0423\u043b\u0430\u043c\u043a\u0438 \u0421\u0432\u0456\u0442\u043b\u0430, Splitter aus Licht)
\nMila Teshaieva, Marcus Lenz | 92 min | 2025 | Denmark, Germany, Ukraine
\nIn Competition for International Feature-Length Documentary<\/strong>
\nFestival Film Dokumenter 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bucha massacre, committed by Russian forces who occupied the area in February 2022, and the subsequent withdrawal of Putin\u2019s troops along with the liberation of Kyiv\u2019s outskirts unfolded in late March of the same year. This tragedy left behind ruins of once-lived homes, disrupted routines, and devoured both distances and the lives of loved […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":788,"featured_media":46576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"edition":[781],"class_list":["post-56407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film-review-en","edition-ffd-2025-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ffd.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ffd.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ffd.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ffd.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/788"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ffd.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ffd.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ffd.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ffd.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ffd.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ffd.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56407"},{"taxonomy":"edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ffd.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/edition?post=56407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}