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SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH

Updated: Jan 14

feature documentary film / 95' / Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden, France


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.


Director: Olha Zhurba


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).


Selected 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


Creative team:

  • Producer: Darya Bassel (Moon Man / Ukraine)

  • Co-producers: Anne Köhncke (Final Cut for Real / Denmark), Kerstin Übelacker (We Have a Plan / Sweden), ARTE France, Film i Skåne

  • Writer: Olha Zhurba

  • DOP: Volodymyr Usyk, Viacheslav Tsvetkov, Misha Lubarsky

  • Editor: Michael Aaglund

  • Music: Yaroslav Tatarchenko (bunht)

  • Sound: Pavlo Melnyk


Selected festivals and awards:

The film was presented at the following pitching sessions:

  • B2B Doc Launchpad at Krakow Film Festival, 2022

  • Ukraine Delegation Presentation at Nordisk Panorama, 2022

  • Ukrainian Showcase at Edinburgh IFF Work-in-Progress, 2022

  • IDFA Forum Pitch, 2022

  • IDFA Forum Rough Cut Presentations, 2023


Premiere: Venice International Film Festival 2024, Main Program, Out-of-Competition Section


Awards:

  • Best Film of the International Competition at the Riga IFF (Latvia)

  • DOC FUTURE Award at the Verzio International Documentary Film Festival (Hungary)

  • Best Film at the Tertio Millennio Film Festival (Italy)

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