When Lightning Flashes Over the Sea

Street cats, islands of light, flings, losses, and conscriptions. Eva Neymann portrays the people of Odesa and their cats with gentle care, seeking to reveal their dreams when war has destroyed all certainty. The Ukrainian filmmaker, who premiered Pryvoz in the International Competition at Doclisboa 2021, has shot all her films in Odesa since her student days, and thus knows the city’s secrets. This film, full of memories and dreams, is inspired by the surreal beauty of Ten Nights of Dreams, by Natsume Sōseki. It is a rare gesture of humanism, depicting a tragic moment in the country’s history.