Ty mene lubysh?

Do You Love Me?
Ukraine, one year before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Fun-loving Kira is 17 and is a budding actor, something she has no trouble proving before her bedroom mirror to the strains of “Venus” by Bananarama. In an era known in Ukrainian as “Perebudova” or “remodelling”, colourful nylon stockings are all the rage, her parents’ generation is celebrating with caviar on toast and raising crystal glasses amidst not-quite-conformist paintings, and artistic types are wondering where they can get their hands on cheap dollars. Meanwhile, Kira retreats to the kitchen to investigate a plastic bag of flotsam from the West containing chewing gum, a glittery jumper and a can of Pepsi. Her life is about to take off, but her family and the country she lives in are beginning to fall apart.
Paying great attention to (lovingly reconstructed) detail and suffused by the world of objects, Tonia Noyabrova’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story depicts the advent of self-reliance as a farewell to the illusions of childhood. Interweaving several episodes, her film chronicles the creeping but radical transformation that is taking place. The path to independence is uncertain and sometimes painful.
by Tonia Noyabrova
with Karyna Khymchuk, Maksym Myhayilychenko, Natalia Lazebnikova, Oleksandr Zhyla, Daria Palagnyuk, Andriy Shabanov
Ukraine / Sweden 2023 Ukrainian 90’ Colour World premiere

With

  • Karyna Khymchuk (Kira)
  • Maksym Myhayilychenko (Lev)
  • Natalia Lazebnikova (Vira)
  • Oleksandr Zhyla (Misha)
  • Daria Palagnyuk (Liza)
  • Andriy Shabanov (Voronin)

Crew

Director Tonia Noyabrova
Screenplay Tonia Noyabrova
Cinematography Vilius Machiulskis
Editing Tamuna Karumidze
Sound Design Niklas Skarp
Sound Christian Holm
Production Design Volodymyr Romanov
Costumes Tetyana Kremen
Make-Up Gosha Matskevich
Assistant Director Nadia Lyudchik
Casting Alla Samoylenko
Production Manager Mykola Poluden
Producers Anastasiia Bukovska, Danylo Kaptyukh, Nikita Bukowski
Executive Producer Stanislav Prytula
Co-Producers Jonas Kellagher, Kristina Börjeson
Co-Production Common Ground Picture Göteborg
Film i Väst Göteborg

Tonia Noyabrova

The screenwriter and director was born in Kyiv, Ukraine in 1983. She studied at the city’s National University of Culture and Arts and made her name as a director of television commercials and music videos. Soon after her first short film, she embarked on her feature film career. She won the award for Best Ukrainian Director at the Odesa International Film Festival in 2018.

Filmography

2013 Independence Day; short film 2014 Odesa; short film 2015 Everything Will Be Alright; short film 2018 Hero of My Time 2023 Ty mene lubysh? (Do You Love Me?)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023