Lysychansk, eastern Ukraine. The staff at an interim care center do all they can to meet the housing and emotional needs of neglected children. Removed from broken homes, the young wards form strong friendships as they await court custody decisions about their futures.

Blank expressions speak volumes in Simon Lereng Wilmont’s staggeringly poignant documentary about vulnerable children and their rehabilitation. Dance routines, disco-ball lamps, and handheld sparklers let pinpoints of light into the stark realities of abandonment in this serious and sensitive film.