SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH

SYNOPSIS

Landscapes, occasional conversations and encounters, and sounds that weave in and out of the frame compose SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH. Captured in varying proximities to the frontline over two years, the audiovisual diary of Ukraine’s immersion into the abyss of total war traces the subtle changes in Ukrainian society. The ragged chords of panic and horror of the first weeks of the Russian invasion slowly morph into the numb stillness of the acceptance of death and destruction, which eventually becomes the tragic normality for the local population, but just an afterthought for the rest of the world. Against the backdrop of the (meta)physical landscape of collective disaster, a new generation of Ukrainians aspires to imagine the future.

CONTACT

AMOUNT OF THE SUPPORT FOR FINALISATION: 15 000 €

Date of the decision : December 11th 2023

THE DIRECTOR

Olha Zhurba is a Ukrainian film director, editor and screenwriter. Her short fiction film DAD’S SNEAKERS (2021) premiered at the Locarno FF and later won awards at many international festivals. DAD’S SNEAKERS was a candidate for a nomination at the European Film Awards 2022. OUTSIDE (2022) is her debut documentary, which premiered at CPH:DOX and HOT DOCS and won the Willy Brandt award at the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin and later the Japan Prize Award of Honor. She was also the editor of the festival hits and award-winning documentary films THIS RAIN WILL NEVER STOP (2021) and HOME GAMES (2018).

Filmography

Songs of Slow Burning Earth,documentary film, 95′, 2024

Ukrainian Factory, short documentary, 25’, 2024

Outside, documentary film, 79’, 2022

Dad’s Sneakers, short fiction, 20’, 2021

FESTIVALS

• Venice IFF 2024: Official selection – Out of Competition (world premiere)
• Docudays 2025