Landing

by Ksenia Ciuvaseva

Moldova/Germany/Serbia  |  2018  |  90 min  |  In development

Synopsis

When I was thirteen, my father started leaving home to make a living on Antonov airplanes in Eastern Africa. At nineteen, I left Moldova myself to pursue my filmmaking career abroad. However, for me Moldova was never a home to return to: the gaps in the relationship with my father and the shadow of an unfinished house – an unfulfilled family dream – hung heavily over me as soon as I stepped foot on the land I grew up in. My father’s biggest dream was to build a house for our family in Moldova. His vision, nevertheless, didn’t come true. His absence at home resulted in the construction dragging on for years, which, in turn, resulted in broken family relations and my parents’ divorce. After eight years I decide to come back to Moldova and have a conversation with my father: an attempt at a dialogue amidst a country under re-construction.

Biography

After growing up in Moldova, KSENIA CIUVAȘEVA moved to Berlin when she was 19 years old to pursue her film studies. Ksenia graduated in Film and Theater Studies at Free University in Berlin and Prague. Recently, she also got her degree in Film Directing at Film University Babelsberg „KONRAD WOLF“. Her experience in the film industry includes participations in numerous workshops and working at film festivals. TRACING TANGO ECHO TANGO, her diploma film, will premiere at the 37th DOK.fest München.

Awards

  • Participation at Doc Lab Poland Co-Production Market during Krakow Film Festival (May 2018).
  • Participant of BDC Discoveries 2018 development workshop organized by Balkan Documentary Center (Sofia, Prizren and Jihlava). Winner of Best Pitch Award (cash prize; ex-aequo with another project).
  • Participant of MOLDOX Inspiration Lab 2018 workshop at MOLDOX festival in Cahul, Moldova. Winner of two awards: EDN Award consisting of an “Observer Pass” to Lisbon Docs Workshop/Pitch 2018 and B2B Award consisting of an invitation to become a part of B2B Baltic to Black Sea Documentary Network (access to additional support, training workshops for the project, travel grants to attend international markets, etc.).
  • Participation as “Observer” at Lisbon Docs International Financing and Co-Production Forum for Documentaries in Lisbon (14-21 October 2018).
  • Participation at a Story Development Workshop hosted by B2B Doc Network during Minsk International Film Festival Listapad (from 4 to 7 Nov 2018).
  • Participation at a Trailer Production Workshop hosted by B2B Doc Network during Tbilisi International Film Festival (from 5 to 9 Dec 2018).
  • Participation at „Producers Meet Producers“ pitch organized by B2B Doc during Docudays UA Film Festival in Kiev, Ukraine (March, 2019).
  • Participation at East-West-Talent-Lab of goEast Film Festival in Wiesbaden, Germany (April 2019). Winner of the Development Award for Best Project (cash prize).
  • Participation at Beldocs Academy during Beldocs Documentary Film Festival in Belgrade, Serbia (May 2019). Winner of Best Project Award (cash prize).
  • Participation at Speed Meetings of Docs Barcelona in May 2019. – Participation at Beldocs in Progress during Beldocs Documentary Film Festival in Belgrade, Serbia (online edition) in September 2020.
  • With the support of foundation grants from Stiftung maecenia für Frauen in Wissenschaft und Kunst (2019) & Grenzgänger / Crossing Borders Research Grant Programm of Robert Bosch Stiftung (2020).
  • Supported by the National Film Center of Moldova (CNC – Centrul Naţional al Cinematografiei) with a Development Grant (2021).