Land of Oblivion

Spring has come to Pripyat, a town of 50,000 in the Ukraine countryside. On April 25, 1986, little Valery plants an apple tree with the help of his father Alexei, a scientist. Anya and Piotr celebrate their marriage with friends and relatives. An explosion in the nearby nuclear plant in Chernobyl, followed by heavy rain showers, shakes the local community that, oblivious of the dangers, is evacuated only four days later. Piotr takes part in the fire fighters’ operations. Ten years later, in an apocalyptic scenario, Anya returns to the deserted places as a tour guide. Piotr never went back home. Alexei is missing. Valery, now a young man, searches for his stolen past. For all the survivors, nothing will ever be the same. –Venice Critics’ Week