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Yoshie Ruth Linton

Q&A: “Pushing Boundaries” directed by Lesia Kordonets

Updated: Oct 20, 2023

Nara International Film Festival International Competition Q&A Session with Ruth

"Pushing Boundaries"

Director: Lesia Cordonets


The biggest pleasure for me as a member of the selection committee for the Nara International Film Festival's international competition is that I can imagine the content of the Q&A session that will take place during the selection process.

After the selection committee decides on the invitation, I spend the entire time until I meet the director at the film festival wondering about the kind of person who made this film. I remember that this work arrived on the last day of the selection committee's deadline. A Ukrainian work, which I don't see very often. Russia had just invaded Ukraine a few days earlier.

This film is a documentary about Russia's invasion of Crimea. Movies can sometimes enrich our lives and wake us up to the truth.


Lesia Cordonets quickly adapted to Nara. She carried two heavy cameras around her neck and walked around Naramachi every day, experiencing new things.

This Q&A led to many good questions, and she shared a lot of her creativity as a writer.

The most striking thing is a shared theme between the invasion of Crimea and the Paralympic Games. Paralympic athletes can empathize with the fact that for Ukraine, losing Crimea means losing a part of its body.

"Pushing Boundaries"

Director: Lesia Cordonets

2021/102 minutes/Color/Ukrainian

Japanese-English subtitles


Synopsis:

A documentary that follows the athletes of the Ukrainian Paralympic team who lost their training base due to Russia's annexation of Crimea. It shows the Sochi Paralympic candidates as individuals and athletes as they adapt to the historical and social conditions that stand in their way.

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