Klondike (Ukrainian: Клондайк, romanizedKlondaik) is a 2022 Ukrainian drama film written, directed, and edited by Maryna Er Gorbach. The film stars Oksana Cherkashyna as a pregnant woman living near the Ukrainian-Russian border during the Russo-Ukrainian War and the shooting of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Klondike premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2022, where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Competition for directing.[2] At the Berlin International Film Festival, it won the second place in Panorama Audience Award category.[3] This film was selected as the Ukrainian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.

Klondike
Poster
UkrainianКлондайк
Directed byMaryna Er Gorbach
Written byMaryna Er Gorbach
Produced by
  • Maryna Er Gorbach
  • Sviatoslav Bulakovskyi
  • Mehmet Bahadir Er
Starring
CinematographySviatoslav Bulakovskyi
Edited byMaryna Er Gorbach
Music byZviad Mgebrishvili
Production
companies
  • Kedr Film
  • Protim Video Production
  • TRT
Release date
  • January 21, 2022 (2022-01-21) (Sundance)
Running time
100 minutes
Countries
  • Ukraine
  • Turkey
Languages
Budget₴25,960,000[1]

Plot

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The film focuses on the story of a local Ukrainian family trapped at the epicenter of the crash of MH17. The actions unfold on July 17, 2014, in the village of Grabove, Donetsk region, near the Russian border.[4] The protagonists Irina and Anatoly are expecting their first child, as the war brutally invades their lives, along with the wreckage of a downed Boeing. The woman refuses to evacuate, even when armed groups occupy the village.

Cast

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  • Oksana Cherkashyna as Irka
  • Serhiy Shadrin as Tolik
  • Oleg Shcherbina as Yurik, Irka's younger brother

Film crew

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  • Director — Maryna Er Gorbach
  • Screenwriter — Maryna Er Gorbach
  • Cinematographer — Sviatoslav Bulakovsky
  • Art Directors — Maria Denisenko, Vitaly Sudarkov, Andrew Grechishkin
  • Composer — Zviad Mgebrishvili
  • Sound director — Sergeant Kurpiel
  • Costume designer — Victoria Filipova
  • Makeup artist — Ksenia Galchenko
  • Producers — Maryna Er Gorbach, Svyatoslav Bulakovsky, Mehmet Bahadir Er

Film production

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The film project won the 11th State Cinema Competition held by Ukrainian State Film Agency. Additionally, in May 2021, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey supported film production. The budget accounted for ₴25.9 million.[5] The casting was guided by Tanya Simon. Bosnian sound director Serjan Kurpiel and Georgian composer Zviad Mgebrishvili were also involved in the project. Under the terms of cooperation, 90% of post-production took place in Turkey.[6]

Reception

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Critical response

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As of November 2024 Klondike has an approval rating of 98% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 40 reviews. The website's critics consensus states: "Klondike offers a bleak portrait of a war-torn Ukrainian village with the mordant wit of someone who understands that for civilians, the mundanities of life must go on".[7] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 10 critics' reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[8]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2022 Sundance Film Festival Directing Award World Cinema Dramatic Competition Maryna Er Gorbach Won [9]
2022 Berlin International Film Festival Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (Panorama Section) Klondike Won [3]
2022 International Istanbul Film Festival National Competition-Golden Tulip Best Film Klondike Won [10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Клондайк. Тизер" [Klondike]. Dzyga MDB (in Russian). February 26, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  2. ^ Lodge, Guy (January 29, 2022). "'Klondike' Review: Harrowing Drama Braids Marital and Political Warfare on the Russian-Ukrainian Border". Variety.com. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Frost, Caroline (February 19, 2022). "Berlinale: 'Baqyt' and 'Aşk, Mark ve Ölüm' Win Panorama Audience Prizes". Deadline. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  4. ^ Klondike, retrieved 2022-03-13
  5. ^ "Клондайк". dzygamdb.com (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  6. ^ Петренко, Галина (2021-07-17). "Марина Ер Горбач, режисерка "Клондайку": Все авторське українське кіно про війну на Донбасі – це артхаусний десант, який прагне зацікавити нашим болем міжнародну аудиторію". detector.media (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  7. ^ "Klondike at Rottem Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Klondike at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  9. ^ "2022 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS ANNOUNCED – sundance.org". 28 January 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  10. ^ "2022 41.Istanbul Film Festivali Ödülleri Sahiplerini Buldu – www.iksv.org" (in Turkish). 20 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
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