Short Summer

Eight-year-old Katya (Maiia Pleshkevich) spends the summer with her grandparents in the Russian countryside. As their marriage slowly unravels and the Second Chechen War looms in the background, Katya captures the sunlight in games, friendships, and childhood adventures. Yet the sense of threat seeps in everywhere: trains loaded with tanks, radio reports of attacks, a veteran breaking in for food. With static camera setups, subtle chiaroscuro effects, and Evgeny Rodin’s refined cinematography, writer-director Nastia Korkia weaves a poetic, intimate portrait of a childhood overshadowed by fear and loss. The result is both tender and unsettling: a visually striking exploration of youth caught between light and shadow, play and reality, while also serving as a time capsule of years marked by war and fragile memory. A luminous cinematic tableau that lingers long after the credits fade.