“A widow who cares for stray cats, a boy who loves the sea, a philosopher marked by life … Eva Neymann (Song of Songs, The House With a Turret) shows the inhabitants of Odesa with gentleness and care, trying to find out what they dream of when the war has destroyed all certainty.” Thus reads a synopsis for the filmmaker’s new documentary When Lightning Flashes Over the Sea, which world premieres in the Forum sidebar of the 75th edition of the Berlin Film Festival and puts a spotlight on how Russia’s war against Ukraine affects people.
Neymann returned to war-torn Odesa, encountering both familiar and new faces. “The film captures resilient memories, dreams, and hopes, revealing humanity’s search for meaning amidst the horrors of war,” the synopsis for the Blue Monticola Film co-production with Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg highlights.
The excerpt from the film provides a feel for the poetic journey it takes viewers on as Neymann portrays people and their dreams amid light and darkness.
“At the beginning of the war, I was in Ukraine, so I experienced the first shock together with all the people there,” Neymann told THR. “And I decided at once to make this document of time and place. It was important for me. And I think it is important for these people.”
Initially, she thought of a title including the word “dreams” because “it was important to me to document people’s dreams,” the filmmaker shared. “Especially in hard times, to keep yourself going, you have to keep the ability to dream and see something except the so-called reality because otherwise you are just the product of the circumstances.”
Then she met a young person featured in the film, and she had a title. “As soon as I met a boy who made wishes and told me that he was totally secure (in the notion) that all our wishes will come true when lightning flashes over the sea, I thought that is it,” the filmmaker explained.
The documentary shows people with a spirit of resilience and focus on going on with their lives. “Of course, life goes on, and you see young girls taking selfies and women looking very nice,” Neymann said. “And the restaurants are open. There are concerts in the city, and so on. It is a very, very strange state.” Explosions happen regularly, of course. “It is so terrible. I have experienced it quite a few times,” she added. “But after a couple of hours, maybe faster, you just forget it. It is possible to get used to it in some way to make life continue.”
Concluded Neymann: “We have to continue to live to also have joy. Hatred is not, can not be the main drive in life.”
Watch the excerpt from When Lightning Flashes Over the Sea below.
