A Bit of a Stranger

Synopsis

The film’s director, Svitlana Lishchynskas, was born in Moscow during the Soviet era. In the film, she explores the experiences of four generations of women in her family, including her own, to clarify how Moscow’s long-standing imperialist policies have deprived them of their true national identity. Each new generation in Svitlana’s family is more russified than the previous one. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine strips away the Russian elements in their identity and forces them to find another. Svitlana’s daughter flees to London with her child, where she undergoes an existential crisis. Svitlana’s mother remains calm about her Soviet-Russian past, despite having lost her home in Mariupol. Svitlana explores the colonized part of her consciousness to answer the question: how did Soviet totalitarianism and russification affect family relationships?

Production Facts

Director and screenwriter Svitlana Lishchynska’s documentary "A Bit of a Stranger" was selected for the 2024 Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section.

Producer: Anna Kapustina, Albatros Communicos Film Production
Swedish co-producer: Fredrik Lange, Vilda Bomben Film and ZDF