RODNYE (CLOSE RELATIONS)

For one long year, filmmaker, film festival director and producer Vitaly Mansky travelled around Ukraine – the land of his birth, it’s true, but not his homeland – in search of lost family harmony. Through researching, asking and observing, he seeks to understand why his mother suddenly insists on voting, why his aunts no longer talk to one another and why his cousin celebrates New Year’s Eve twice. As disturbing as the situation they find themselves in may be, Mansky’s relatives still seem deeply familiar. In fascinating in- and outdoor shots, Mansky, who was a member of the goEast Jury in 2011 and has presented his films several times at the festival, creates a very personal portrait of a disintegrating family, interwoven with the story of his departure from Russia.