Beanpole – Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art

In Kantemir Balagov’s film, awarded at Cannes, overwhelming and dense with emotions, we watch a city and its people rising from ruins. The film tells the story of a difficult relationship between two girls in post-war Leningrad in 1945, which is recovering after years of siege. The heroines of Beanpole, Masha and Iya, try not only to forget about what they experienced, but also to remember who they were before their plans, emotions as well as feelings were annihilated. The young director was inspired by a shocking reportage from Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich, War Has Nothing Feminine About It and, what Balagov’s film treats as exceptional, the female perspective. The director does not focus on the heroic deeds of war, but instead redefines heroism: as the everyday small victories of life over death, hope over mourning, youth over dramatic experiences.