By the time we realized we were supposed to be afraid it was too late. - Alaska
This is the story of two friends, Alaska, so named because people think she is as cold as ice, and Cuba, nicked name because growing up they thought she was from Cuba. When the war in Ukraine started they took up being medics. They work together to keep each other sane and alive.
This film is not what you expect. It's a film that doesn't behave like any typical war/Ukraine documentary. This is a glorious celebration of life and of friendship. It's the story of two women who are trying to do the right thing and still live their lives.
Made up of a combination of body cam footage, cellphone video and footage shot by the film crew this film puts us into the action in ways that pretty much no other Ukraine doc has. This is not a world of gloom and doom, but is instead something much more complex. Life is going on outside the war zones, even if the war hangs over everything. Its a film that reveals the situation in Ukraine to be much more complex.
I was knocked back on my heels by this film. It did not do anything I expected it to. It went all over the place into unexpected places and it made be rethink how I think about not only the war, but all war and the reporting about them.
This film is wonderful. I love that it is not conventional and forces us to truly engage with it.
Highly recommended.
CUBA AND ALASKA played the Sheffield INrernation Doc Fest, is currently at the Brussels International Film Fest and will be at the Munich International Film Festival June 29 & 30 and July 4
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