Original language: Russian

Subtitles: English

14 min.

Dir. Volia Chajkouskaya; 2020; Estonia, Belarus

Director Volia Chajkouskaya, who was always considered the «white crow» in her family, visits her parents in Vitebsk to have a sincere discussion about the past and find a common language. Poignant conversations are turned into a documentary film, essentially amounting to a confession of love for the family.

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About the film

Volia left her childhood home in Vitebsk a long time ago, so talking to her relatives in person—instead of through a messenger—becomes quite an event and a revelation. Now that parents and daughter are close together, the time for some important and painful questions has come. Perhaps these questions are not the easiest and most pleasant, but they had to be answered sooner or later. Especially since Volia is no longer the little girl she used to be. Now she can talk to her mother and father as equals and, together with them, try to find something that, it would seem, has already become hopelessly lost.

The film "Common Language" is a touching example of an intimate documentary that describes the world from the first-person point of view. The author of the film, Volia Chajkouskaya, decided on a difficult experiment by recording conversations with her parents on camera. The result was a sincere, full of genuine emotions, confession of love for her relatives.

Films are for the individual viewing only. Why?

Russian

Original language

English

Subtitles

documentary, short film

Genre

Volia Chajkouskaya, Riho Västrik

Producers

Patrik Antonjuk, Volia Chajkouskaya

Editors

Volia Chajkouskaya

Script

Volia Chajkouskaya

DoP

Dmitri Natalevich

Sound designer