Belarus, 1996. YURA, a 29-year-old prisoner, escapes from his police escort and accidentally enters the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. He finds shelter in one of the abandoned villages, where he meets FENYA, a 75-year old lonely woman who lives without electricity, amongst wild animals. He hides from the freezing cold in Fenya’s attic, where she finds him and starts to look after him, but she doesn’t tell him about the deadly dangers of this place. Gradually, Yura appreciates Fenya and sees the beauty in this strange old woman, but he still treats her with suspicion. On New Year’s Eve Fenya tells Yura about her dream of being buried near her husband at “Solomon’s Mountain” – the village cemetery.

Yura comes across a deserted farm where two scientists in masks are measuring radiation levels. He demands to know what has happened there and Fenya confesses that the village had been evacuated because of radiation. He is devastated and confused.

A police car arrives in the village. Yura hides in the cellar and overhears the policeman PETROVICH tell Fenya that a runaway prisoner who has raped a girl and killed two people is hiding in the zone. Fenya lies to Petrovich that she has seen him in a neighbouring village.

Fenya and Yura run to the forest. In a cramped cold dugout Fenya’s health deteriorates and Yura takes care of her. Now he doesn’t feel that Fenya is an old woman, but a person he loves and wants to save. She asks him to send a letter to her daughter who lives in England. Yura knows that there is a police ambush awaiting him in the village but decides to come back anyway.

Fenya dies, and Yura buries her at Solomon’s Mountain next to her husband’s grave. In order to fulfill her last wish he goes to the town and sends a letter to her daughter. In the village he makes a huge wooden cross and carries it to the cemetery. Suddenly a strange sound stops him. He turns round and sees foreigners with cameras who stare at him as at some strange creature. But Yura doesn’t run away. He looks at the strangers without fear.

Belarusian producer, festival coordinator, scriptwriter

Graduated from Minsk State Linguistic University, Minsk Private Film School “Cinema”, International Film School in Belye Stolby, Russia (a workshop in scriptwriting).

In 2013 founded the film company “lllusion” that produced several independent films including the family feature film “Timur and His Squad” (2014) that took part and won awards at international film festivals in Germany, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Since 2015 works as the National Competition coordinator of Minsk International Film Festival “Listapad” and at Visual and Performing Arts Centre “ART Corporation” as a coordinator of Belarusian films distribution and promotion.

In 2013 started to work as a producer and co-writer on the film project “Solomon’s Mountain” (previously Like Sting) originally written by Irina Pismennaya, Belarusian distinguished scriptwriter and film director, who died in 2014. The film is planned to be produced by the “Illusion” film company with Belarusian-Polish film director Sergey Kolosovsky in 2018.

Author of several scripts, articles on cinema.

Graduated from Minsk Institute of Management (Legal psychology) and Film Directing at Warsaw Film School.

Hi worked for “Belarusfilm” National Film Studio, TV-company “General Producing Centre”, “PARTIZAN PRODUCTION” (Belarus) as an editor. Since 2013 has been working for TVP BELSAT (Poland) as an editor of commercial department and a journalist.

His filmography includes: “The Way to the Heaven is Closed” (2008), “The Group” (doc., 2010), “Dreaming about Mexico” (2012), “Zaklad/Bet” (2013), “Whispers and Cries of Tania B.” (doc., 2015), “Popgun” (2015, shown at Minsk IFF Listapad – Belarus, Seoul International Extreme-Short Image & Film Festival – South Korea, IFF, “Kinoshok” – Anapa, Russia, “Bulbamovie” – Warsaw, Poland and others.