Zlata

Zlata is 12 years old. Following the Russian invasion, she fled Ukraine with her family to find refuge in Belgium. But she really doesn't want to be there. She misses her father, who stayed behind to fight, and she doesn't like her new life in this foreign country with its complicated language. In on-screen calls, the family maintains some semblance of a link with its nuclear members, now dispersed. Zlata draws, putting her nightmares and the life she left behind on paper in the form of comic strips. A constant hum disturbs the banal tranquillity of their existence, a conflict that is always at a distance but nonetheless omnipresent. The prospect of a return to Ukraine fades as the family’s integration continues. Time passes, flies by even. And yet it is impossible to forget those left behind: loved ones, a home, and Findus the cat. Mattias Bavré's sensitive and delicate camera work captures this calm and undisturbed daily life, giving a subtle glimpse into Zlata's arrival on the threshold of adolescence. A simple, moving film that serves as a reminder, if one were needed, of the effects of violent conflict on children, but also of their infinite and powerful resilience.
Bastien Bento

Zlata, 2023
Z bratem, 2021