Genre
Synopsis
The story revolves around Nadia and Fedor, recent political asylum seekers in the USA. They are a married couple in their early 30s, who are unexpectedly teleported back home to Belarus through an enigmatic quantum tech developed by scientists working for the dictatorial regime. Nadia and Fedor suddenly find themselves instantly deported by their nostalgic memories – stranded in the woods of their homeland, they grapple with reality far removed from the safe new home they recently made in the USA. Hiding like criminals on the outskirts of the city around unwelcoming dachas, they struggle to survive in the winter woods, barely avoiding police and scientists searching for their whereabouts. Their desperate attempts to find a solution to their predicament expose cracks in their dysfunctional relationship.
Bio
Darya Zhuk left Minsk, Belarus at the age of 16 to study in the US. Six years later with a cum lade B.A. degree from Harvard University, Darya Zhuk started creating both narrative and documentary independent films. She is a proud honors graduate of Columbia MFA program in Directing. Films she wrote and directed have been selected to SXSW, Tarkovsky, Oaxaca, Atlanta, Palm Springs, Santa Fe Independent film festivals just to name a few. She received best female writer-director award from New York Women in Film and Television in 2015 and has been nominated for the best female director by Adrienne Shelly Foundation. She received special jury prize for her short “The Real American” at Listopad Film Festival in Minsk. Additionally, she is the winner of such prestigious film grants as New York State Council for the Arts, Panavision Emerging Filmmaker grant, and Interdisciplinary Council for the Art of Columbia University grants.
Awards History
Democratic Media Institute 2024 - Development Award
