‘Demons’ Explores the Russia-Ukraine Relationship via Borscht, Blood and Graves (Exclusive Trailer)
Writer-director Natalka Vorozhbyt’s new film, Demons, will have its world premiere at the 79th Locarno Film Festival on 13 August. The film uses a developing relationship between a Russian drifter and a Ukrainian woman as a metaphor for Russia and Ukraine, framing political conflict through a surreal rural drama.
Slavik, a homeless Russian man with an unclear past, arrives in a remote central Ukrainian village and is taken in by Nina, an older, independent woman representing post-Soviet Ukraine. Their initially unlikely companionship turns to betrayal amid a setting where witches and the dead coexist with villagers; the trailer includes borscht, a flying vehicle, blood and graves. The cast includes Ruslana Pysanka, Aleksey Mitin, Tatiana Stepanova, Ruslan Garmash and Mykola Ponomarenko, while Celluloid Dreams is handling international sales.
In short
- Demons uses a surreal romance to allegorise Russia-Ukraine relations.
- It premieres at Locarno on 13 August.
- The story moves from uneasy companionship to betrayal.
Explained simply
Ukraine and Russia were both part of the Soviet Union until it broke up in 1991, after which they became separate countries. Their relationship has been shaped by disputes over political influence, territory and Ukraine’s choice of direction.
The film centres on Nina, a Ukrainian woman in a remote village, and Slavik, a Russian drifter she takes in. Their changing relationship is set against village life where supernatural beliefs and the dead are part of the story.
The film uses this personal relationship to explore the wider ties between the two countries. Its rural setting and surreal elements place that theme within a drama about individual lives and betrayal.
Entertainment Europe Film World