My Grandmother Is a Skydiver

A granddaughter experiencing the invasion of Ukraine reflects about past generations, who were constantly going through deportations, different forms of wars and genocides. She has a phone call with her young grandmother Alfiya, who is currently living her best and peaceful years in Soviet Central Asia, by actively doing parachuting and studying midwifery. In this reflective space, the granddaughter tries to define her ethnic identity, break the endless circle of generational trauma and reflect about the purpose of human life.

Director’s statement
The research for the project began in early 2022, when I became interested in the life of my grandmother as a progressive woman, who comes from Central Asia.
After the start of the full scale invasion, the story got deeper subtext. The aggressor country colonized the lands of Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central and Northern Asia. Many cultures, languages and ethnic groups were erased. Although the terror continues, all these topics remain marginalized. The film doesn’t consist of political statements, but through the personal story built on poetic images of skydiving and birth, the dialogue between granddaughter and grandmother, usage of various languages in the narrative - we move to the global catarsis, overcome the generational trauma, decolonize and unlearn.