Time Machine Maidan

Машина Часу Майдан

In this haunting and visually inventive documentary, a spectral voice drifts through time and memory to trace the Maidan revolution and the roots of resistance in Ukraine.

The voice is searching for Maksym, a friend and mentor killed in the war with Russia, and the grief of that loss propels it backwards and forwards through time. Time Machine Maidan weaves together archival footage and on-location images in a dreamlike, surrealist flow, intercutting between the Maidan uprising, a summer camp, and the shadow of the present war.

Ukrainian director Roman Liubyi, a Sundance and Berlinale-nominated filmmaker, builds a portrait of resistance and collective memory in which personal loss and political history become inseparable. Edited with real precision and a visceral, experiential pull, this is a film that holds the ideal of what is being fought for alongside the grief of what has already been lost.

Content guidance: Contains images of dead bodies and severe injuries.