10th edition CIFF – 10-14 April 2024

Anna’s War (2018 Feature Film)

Alexey FEDORCHENKO | Russia | 2018 | color | DCP | 75′ | Russian, Ukrainian, German | e.s.

The horrific true story of Jewish Anna, a girl who somehow survived World War II in Ukraine, is of great beauty. The six-year old hid in a building commandeered by the Nazis. Fear of discovery by the guard dog keeps her imprisoned. Ode to the ingenuity and resilience of a child.

Ukraine, 1941: a Jewish girl regains consciousness under a layer of black earth. Close-ups of milky-white body parts reveal she is in a mass grave. The images are of great beauty despite all their horror. Director Alexey Fedorchenko (Silent Souls, 2010; Angels of Revolution, 2014) modestly, empathically tells the true story of six-year-old Anna, who views the war from her hiding place in a building taken over by the Nazis. The guard dog outside imprisons her. The threat of discovery is constant.

Her ingenuity, the items left behind by the slowly alternating visitors and the treasures she discovers in the adjacent rooms help her survive, simultaneously creating some absurdist, theatrical moments. This ode to children’s resilience and ingenuity hinges on the phenomenal child actress Marta Kozlova.

Place: The Cinemas 4

Date: 13 April 2018

Time: 13:45

Duration: 0:57

Place: The Cinemas 5

Date: 14 April 2018

Time: 21:45

Duration: 0:57

Place: The Cinemas 4

Date: 15 April 2018

Time: 11:30

Duration: 0:57

Year in
Festival

2018

Director

Alexey FEDORCHENKO

Camera

Alisher Khamidkhodzhaev

Cast

Marta Kozlova

Country

Russia

Editor

Herve Schneid
Pavel Khanyutin

Language

Russian
Ukrainian
German

Length

75′

Producer

Andrey Saveliev
Artem Vasilyev
Maxim Lojevsky
Dmitriy Vorobyov

Production Company

SAGa
Metrafilms
February 29th

Sales

Media Luna New Films

Scenario

Natalya Meshchaninova
Alexey Fedorchenko

Sound Design

Vincent Arnardi

Year of Production

2018

Alexey FEDORCHENKO

Alexey FEDORCHENKO (1966) is a Russian filmmaker who began his career making short documentaries. His First on the Moon (2005) is considered to be the first Russian mockumentary and received the Orizzonti Award in Venice. Fedorchenko’s feature films have also received numerous nominations and awards at international film festivals.

 

Filmography

Kids of the White Grave (2002, short doc), David (2002, short doc), Pervye na lune/Fist on the Moon (2005), ShoSho (2006, short doc), Zheleznaya doroga/The Railway (2007), Bath Day (2008, short doc), The Wind of Shuvgey (2009, short doc), Ovsyanki/Silent Souls (2010), Australia (2011, short doc), Chronoglaz (2011, short), Nebesnye zheny lugovykh mari/Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari (2012), The Fourth Dimension (2012), Angely revoljutsi/Angels of Revolution (2014), Voina Anny/Anna’s War (2017)