The Living Fire / Zhyva Vatra

In the border region between Ukraine, Poland and Romania, people have made a living raising sheep in the spectacular landscape of the Carpathians for hundreds of years. As the snow melts in spring, the shepherds and their herds head to the high mountain pasture, where they will spend the summer. While the eldest generation looks back with wistful longing and pride at a tough herdsman’s life, the younger generation are enjoying the ‘benefits’ of the modern world that are not readily compatible with the traditions of their forefathers. We follow the day-to- day lives of 82-year-old Ivan, 36-year-old Vasyl and 10-year-old Ivanko over the span of four years. With cameramen Oleksandr Pozdnyakov and Mykyta Kuzmenko, director Ostap Kostyuk delivers breathtaking images of nature, people and animals in this portrait of a dwindling folk.