© Andrii Lysetskyi
Set amidst stunning Ukrainian winter landscapes, vanishing villages, and emerging feelings of alienation between people in post-Soviet society, Stepne is the story of Anatoliy, a man who comes back home from the big city to take care of his dying mother. The mother’s passing, a meeting with his brother, and a woman he loves make him reflect on the life he’s had and the choices he made along the way. And then, just before her death, the mother tells Anatoliy about a treasure she has buried… The film premiered in competition at Locarno Film Festival in 2023, where it won the Best Director Award.
“As an artist, I was always interested in the topic of disappearance, departure and parting with something valuable. The silence of past generations about their history made me create this film – as a question about the history of my family and my country’s post-Soviet society.” (M. Vroda)
Sceneggiatura / Screenplay: Maryna Vroda, Kirill Schuvalov
Fotografia / Photography: Andrii Lysetskyi
Montaggio / Editing: Franziska Wenzel, Maryna Vroda, Marek Šulik
Suono / Sound: Sergiy Prokopenko, Igor Jedinák, Lucas Kasprzyk
Scenografia / Art Director: Mychailo Alekseenko
Costumi / Costume Designer: Volodymyr Kuznetsov, Oksana Kovtun
Interpreti / Cast: Oleksandr Maksiakov, Nina Antonova, Oleg Primogenov, Radmila Schegolev
Produzione / Produced by: vrodastudio
Coproduzione / Co-produced by: Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, Tandem Production, Koi Studio, New Europe Film Sales, Kerekes Film
Con il sostegno di / Supported by: Ukraine State Film Agency, Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, (MBB-ILB) Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, RBB – Rundfunk Berlin- Brandenburg, Koi-Studio, New Europe Film Sales, Slovak Film Commission, Kerekes Film, FVG Audiovisual Fund
Distribuzione internazionale / World Sales: New Europe Film Sales
Maryna Vroda
Film director, writer and producer, Maryna Vroda was born in 1982 in Kyiv. In 2007 she graduated in directing from the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary University of Theater, Cinematography and Television. In 2011 her short film Cross-Country won Cannes’ Palme d’Or. In 2010 Vroda participated in the Berlinale Talent Campus and in 2016 she studied for a Master at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. In 2010 Vroda participated in the Berlinale Talent Campus and in 2016 she studied for a Master at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. One of the projects selected at First Cut Lab Trieste-WEMW in 2020, Stepne is her feature debut.
2006 Family Portrait cm / sf 2007 The Rain cm / sf 2008 The Oath cm / sf 2011 Cross (Cross-Country) cm / sf; Premi / Awards: Cannes FF – Palma d’oro / Palme d’Or 2014 Snails cm / sf 2015 Penguin doc. 2023 Stepne; Premi / Awards: Locarno FF – Miglior regia, Premio FIPRESCI / Best Director, FIPRESCI Prize
