Next in Doc Series profiles 10-year-old’s childhood in Ukrainian warzone February 7th, at the Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture, The Distant Barking of Dogs
3 On Thursday, February 7th, at the Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture, the Bozeman Doc Series presents the Montana premiere of the award-winning new documentary, The Distant Barking of Dogs, beginning at 7pm.
Ten-year-old Oleg lives in the eastern part of Ukraine – a warzone that often echoes with anti-aircraft fire and missile strikes. Sometimes these sounds are in the distance, while other times they’re frighteningly close. While many have already left this dangerous area, Oleg remains with his grandmother, who has taken care of him since the death of his mother. They have nowhere else to go.
Chronicling one year in Oleg’s life, the film bears witness to the gradual erosion of a boy’s innocence beneath the pressures of war. Along with his younger cousin, Yarik, Oleg struggles to find some semblance of a normal childhood, playfully wandering the countryside, searching for the adventures all young boys seek. But despite their youthful curiosity and joy, the stress of the constant conflict nearby takes a heavy toll. A true testament to human resilience and a moving, haunting portrait, The Distant Barking of Dogs examines, with remarkable intimacy, the consequences of growing up in the shadow of war.
The Distant Barking of Dogs world premiered at the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, and has gone on to screen at major festivals around the world, winning over twenty awards. In December of 2018, the film was selected to this year’s Oscar documentary shortlist, one of fifteen films considered for nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
“Beautifully observed… The Distant Barking of Dogs deftly weaves a precise coming-of-age narrative into its morally urgent anti-war tableau. [Director] Lereng Wilmont’s subjects earn their stray moments of rustic poetry; so does his film.” – Variety
“There’s an invigorating sense of awe throughout The Distant Barking of Dogs, not only in how skillfully Lereng Wilmont extends the wonder with which the young Oleg approaches the world to become the audience’s, but as a celebration of resilience in seeing the family carrying on, resulting in an experience that no one involved will be able to shake any time soon.” – Moveable Feast
“An intimate, stirring portrayal of life during wartime… beautifully shot… a story that should be told and seen by as many people as possible” – Film Pulse
“Wilmont has crafted a beautiful, poetic observational documentary that completely stays out of politics, and focuses instead on Oleg’s process of growing up and the changes that his situation brings. The boys and their grandma make for great film heroes. The children’s innocence, which is inevitably being spoiled by the sound of every bullet, is intoxicating, and Aleksandra’s kindness and strength are not only admirable, but also completely loveable.” – Cineuropa
And mark your calendars! On February 17th at 7pm, the Doc Series presents a special Sunday screening of The Ancient Woods at the Emerson.
Filmed in one of the last remaining patches of old growth forest in Lithuania, the documentary showcases a place where the boundaries of time melt and everything that exists does not wither or age but “grows into” eternity. A poetic and atypical nature film takes its viewers on the endless journey – from the forest thickets to the wolves’ caves and up to black stork’s nest, and then deep into the water to the underwater forest, returning after to the human beings inhabiting the edge of the woodland. There is no commentary, only rich, almost palpable sounds of the forest and the magical situations captured by the camera.
The film gently erases the line separating the human and natural lives, interweaving them into a single poetic story. Its style and narrative brings it close to a fantasy tale. The Ancient Woods was shot using original climbing and diving equipment, which enriched the cinematic language with a variety of camera angles and shots.
Doors open at 6:30pm. Single admission to The Distant Barking of Dogs and The Ancient Woods is $10, or $8 for students. Tickets are available at the door or in advance at Cactus Records and Movie Lovers, as well as www.bozemandocseries.org where you can buy season passes and 7-film punch cards, learn more about the series, and view trailers for upcoming films. The series will continue every other Thursday through April. •
