After her parents’ divorce, six-year-old Vladlena moves from Crimea to Grozny, not yet aware of the changes that lie ahead. When war breaks out in Chechnya, it deeply affects her city and family. Years later, filmmaker Sandu reflects on her childhood in this poetic, autobiographical hybrid film, exploring how cycles of violence shape children—and how healing and change are possible.

“While shooting my feature documentary film, Memory, in April of 2021 in Grozny, Chechnya (the birthplace of my mother and where I grew up), I felt the influence of the gigantic portraits of Putin, Kadyrov Senior and Kadyrov Junior all over the city. They observed me from everywhere. In parallel to the production of the film, we set out to capture the feeling of totalitarianism that these portraits conveyed. We got up at 4 in the morning and shot through the window of a car because such actions put us under threat of persecution. We understood that we were documenting the time of the birth of fascism in Russia.” Vladlena Sandu

The story of a day in freedom. After two years in a penal colony for minors, Kira is released ahead of schedule. She goes home to Borisoglebsk to see her mother. On the way Kira meets different people, who do not allow her plans to come true.

Mother and daughter, forced migrants from Chechnya who survived the war. Both lost their husbands. Now they live in a small town with the belief that everything will work out.

Diana is pregnant, but she has nowhere to live and nothing to live on. She complains about the injustice of a harsh life, but is the root of her personal and domestic misfortunes only in external causes? At first, the heroine evokes sympathy for herself, but very soon her true face is revealed. Showing several important episodes from the life of Diana, the director gives an objective description of his heroine.

Diana is pregnant, but she has nowhere to live and nothing to live on. She complains about the injustice of a harsh life, but is the root of her personal and domestic misfortunes only in external causes? At first, the heroine evokes sympathy for herself, but very soon her true face is revealed. Showing several important episodes from the life of Diana, the director gives an objective description of his heroine.

Mother and daughter, forced migrants from Chechnya who survived the war. Both lost their husbands. Now they live in a small town with the belief that everything will work out.

Diana is pregnant, but she has nowhere to live and nothing to live on. She complains about the injustice of a harsh life, but is the root of her personal and domestic misfortunes only in external causes? At first, the heroine evokes sympathy for herself, but very soon her true face is revealed. Showing several important episodes from the life of Diana, the director gives an objective description of his heroine.

Self-portrait. In 1998 our family came under armed attack. We were able to escape and we fled Grozny. We have been silent about it since.

Tamerlane, in order to gain independence and be able to marry his beloved Amina, leaves Grozny for the mountains to work as a shepherd.