(N)OSTALGIA (2023)

Feature-length creative documentary (in post-production)

An existential journey from the past to the present, (N)OSTALGIA follows Ukrainian theatre director, Pavlo Yurov, as he returns to the Donbas mining region – his homeland and the site of his captivity by Russian forces in 2014 – looking for real stories for his new performance.

Revealing the personal experiences of the different communities he visits, he learns more about their realities as well as his own roots. Told through a combination of observational footage, interviews and personal reflections, the film documents the creative process through every stage – from the first excursion, through to castings, rehearsals and eventually the final performance.

Emerging as both a film-within-a-performance and a performance-within-a-film, (N)OSTALGIA is an intimate, mosaic-like portrait of a forgotten community and an exploration into the complexities of cultural memory, trauma and changing national identity.

A Grand Duke Films production, in association with Touchpoint NGO

Written, Directed and Produced by Vicki Thornton

Co-Directed by Pavlo Yurov

Co-Produced by Anastasiya Gernega

Associate Producer: Rimma Mareychenko

Director of Photography: Yarema Malashchuk

Editor: Michael Ho

Composer: Margaryta Kulichova (Grisly Faye)

Camera: Yarema Malashchuk, Jean-Louis Schuller, Vicki Thornton, Artem Nadiozhyn, Kyrylo Zhorov 

Sound Mixer: Margaryta Kulichova

Sound Recordists: Vitalik Garkaviy, Andrii Nidzelskyi, Stanislav Teterevlev

Project Manager for House of Europe: Ilona Demchenko

Project Manager for Ukrainian Cultural Foundation: Hanna Kachkovska

Development Producers: Marion Guth, Stéphane Hueber-Blies

Production Coordinator (Svalbard): Nadia Parfan

Production Assistants (Donbas): Denis Sevostyanov, Maria Voronchuk

Translation: Rimma Mareychenko, Lelia Katalnikova, Alis La Luna, Oksana Korinetska, Shireen Hassan

Subtitles: Anastasiia Perun

Featuring: Pavlo Yurov, Olena Apchel, Oksana Danchuk, Viktoria Shvydko, Anatoliy Tatarenko, Alexandra Khalepa

Cast (Northern Depot): Andriy Mostrenko, Dmytro Gavrylov, Hanna Kuzina

Cast (Laguna): Tamara Antropova, Veronika Shostak, Denys Shatskyi, Oleksandr Bodnar, Dmytro Havrilov

Cast (Antratsyt): Kostiantyn Kyrylenko, Nataliia Kobizka, Anastasiia Kasilova, Oleksii Dorychevskyi, Roman Savchenko, Yevhen Chernykov, Ihor Aronov, Oksana Leuta, Anastasiia Metalnykova, Ruslan Hryshko, Ruslan Khablo, Mykyta Skrypka

Contributors (Donbas): Serhii Bozhko, Oksana Strieletska, Anatolii Vyshniakov, Tetiana Isaieva, Yuliia Lemoskina, Kira Lemoskina, Myroslava Lemoskina, Tetiana Farina, Yevheniia Sheremet, Iryna Kovalenko, Tetiana Bielska, Olha Kopach, Olha Zirka-Rubtsova, Nina Zviahintseva, Viktoriia Derkach, Olha Manko, Hanna Ulanova, Liubov Chala, Iryna Holovko, Olena Protsenko, Maryna Shybanova, Andrii Skorleniuk, Alisa Palahniuk, Viktoriia Shytikova, Vladyslav Daikum, Yurii Barkulov, Volodymyr Shtykhnov, Maryna Kyryllova, Yevgen Rubalko, Arthur Smirnov, Ann Grebenyuk, Elina Hetun, Leonid Skalozub, Leonid Kutnii, Ihor Ivanichenko, Andriy Nickolayenko, Serhii Tsipcalenko, Ivan Potapkin, Serhii Belovitzev, Dmytro Zeleniy, Andrii Rosov, Yevhen Tarasenko, Tetiana Pasichnik, Denys Tusnin, Ivan Didkivskiy, Victor Pilguy, Ruslan Kodirov, Volodymyr Fedorenko, Maksym Chernyaev, Victor Trifonov, Volodymyr Kutniy

Contributors (Svalbard): Alexandr Romanovsky, Piotr Putseruk, Radmir Sadykov, Denis Bodarykin, Ivan Dementiev, Aleksandr Yakimovich, Natalia Venetskaya, Ferdinando Sacchetti, Svetlana Serova, Daniil Tuynuymin, Torleiv Lohne, Maurice Sidra, Pierre Puts, Nurkamila Binte Mord Ali, Havashini Ramani, Niclas Rantala, Anmoret Topp, Shih-Bin Yang, David Neila, Juliane Lidig, Rigmar Aasrud, Henrik Danielzon, Tobias Ericsson, Roman Nemaev, Gunnar Fredriksen, Eva Pernilla Nilsson, Anders Norling, Thomas Hanson, Peter Tubaas, Sin Rooseboom de Vries

Composer (Antratsyt): Margaryta Kulichova

Choreographer (Antratsyt): Oleksii Busko

Scenographer (Antratsyt): Kate Lane

Set Decorator (Antratsyt): Taras Kovach

Costume Supervisor (Antratsyt): Veronika Finina

Live Broadcast Engineers (Antratsyt): Sasha Oduvanchikov, Kyrylo Zhorov

Gaffer (Antratsyt): Oleg Bezbakh

Sound Supervisors (Antratsyt): Viacheslav Soboliev & Andrii Nidzelskyi

Music (Antratsyt): Margaryta Kulichova, Andrii Hazin, Oleksandr Ivancheskul, NADIYA Folk Ensemble (Pavlohrad)

PR (Antratsyt): Yaroslava Kravchenko

Assistant to the Director (Antratsyt): Valeriia Buradzhyieva

Production Coordinator (Laguna): Anastasiia Hetman

Composer (Laguna): Olesia Onykiienko

Choreographer (Laguna): Viktor Ruban

Scenographer (Laguna): Katia Libkind

Special thanks to: Adam J B Walker, Taras Kovach, Anna Sorokovaya, Clemens Poole, Serhii Yevstratov, Lina Romanukha, Kateryna Filyuk, Oksana Sarzhevska-Kravchenko, Ilya Zabolotnyi, Stanislav Menzelevskyi, Steven Eastwood, Jeremy Hicks, Jenny Chamarette, Jerry Rothwell, Yulia Serdyukova, Louis Jackson

With the kind assistance of Orbita Television, Pokrovsk; Bilozerske Professional Mining School; Bilozerske Library; Dobropillya Music School; London College of Communication, UAL

© Vicki Thornton, 2023

‘Ukrainian Miners through British Eyes’, NPHU Western Donbas News (April 2018)

Rubelevskaya, Roxana. ‘Vicki Thornton: Society is Full of Pictures…’ in ArtUkraine (4 October 2017)

‘Vicki Thornton: artist in residence’, Cultprostr magazine (2017)

DocWorks: UA/UK. A Documentary Workshop in Practice (4 May 2017)

Blaney, Martin. ‘Tallinn: Ghost town doc wins Screen Best Pitch award’ in Screen Daily (24 Nov 2016)

Sandwell, Ian. ‘DocWorks brings together UK and Ukrainian filmmakers’ in Screen Daily (10 June 2016)

Bassel, Darya. ‘A focus on the idea’, DocuDays UA International Human Rights Festival (2016)