New to MUBI this week:
TRANSNISTRA
Director:
Anna Eborn
World Premiere:
Rotterdam 2019
Select Festivals:
London, Gotëborg, CPH:DOX, Docaviv, Jihlava, Docs Against Gravity, Visions du Réel, Tempo Doc, Reykjavik, Busan, Yamagata, Sarajevo, Guanajuato, Cork
About:
A portrait of youth living in the unrecognized nation of Transnistria.
Officially considered part of Moldova and located on the border of Ukraine, Transnistria has been a breakaway state since 1990, internationally unrecognized but functioning with its own constitution, government, law enforcement, and currency. Filmmaker Anna Eborn provides a glimpse into life here, following a group of teenage friends. At the center is the sole female, Tanya, with several boys vying for her attention or affection. As they are followed over the course of a year, languidly captured by Eborn in a strikingly cinematic manner, they behave much like teens anywhere in the world – but time and again, the film offers reminders of the setting, subtly highlighting how much of the Soviet era remains within Transnistrian society.