Kiev (after Lumiere)

Synopsis

Anna Jermolaewa’s Kiev (after Lumière) captures a tranquil flea market beside a rail line in Kiev. As people lounge near the tracks, a sudden signal triggers a scramble—followed by a roaring 68-car military freight train. Once it passes, calm resumes. Referencing the Lumière brothers, the film has since become a haunting metaphor for the sudden terror of war disrupting everyday life, especially poignant after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Directors' Biography

Anna Jermolaewa, born in Leningrad, was a founding member of Democratic Union, the Soviet Union’s first opposition party. At 17, she co-published the party’s weekly Democratic Opposition—printed on photo paper in her bathroom—with her husband, Ukrainian poet Vladimir Yaremenko, and Artem Gadasik.