Three Women

In the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, in the village of Stuzhytsya, existence is a simple yet hardscrabble affair. In 2019, the director, a native of the region, comes to Stuzhytsya with a cameraman. At first, Makysm takes an outsider’s approach to filming the place, asking questions off camera as he documents horoscope readings or a priest blessing a car in need of repair. Gradually, Maksym and his cameraman find themselves in the frame, as they become enmeshed with the community. They establish an affecting intimacy with three women in particular: the village postmistress, a scientist, and a farmer - the elderly, salty-tongued spinster Hanna, self-described “saddest woman alive,” who comes to see the filmmakers as the sons she never had. Stuzhytsya roughly translates as “a cold place,” but Three Women finds much warmth here. (True/False Film Festival)