FAMILY PORTRAIT IN BLACK AND WHITE

Feature Documentary, Director: Julia Ivanova

In Association with ITVS International, DR (Denmark), Equator HD, Knowledge Network, Canwest-Hot Docs Completion Fund, Rogers Documentary Fund

Olga Nenya, from a small Ukrainian town, is raising SIXTEEN BLACK CHILDREN in the country of Slavic blue-eyed blonds. It is probably the most unusual family in all of the former Soviet Union… a massive family where no one is related by blood but everyone is connected by the color of their skin and by the woman who chose to be their mother. The reality of growing up as a bi-racial child in Eastern Europe, a rare and truly visible minority, is not for the weak at heart. It might only be compared to the courage of one single woman taking on the upbringing of so many children alone.

DEMO of the project available HERE

LIFE ACCORDING TO MAX

Documentary, Director - Julia Ivanova

Produced with the financial assistance from CBC TransCanada Fund, NFB FAB Program & BC Arts Council.

Is it possible for one man to explain love, loneliness, time and life-- without saying a word?

Max-a-Mime can; transforming himself into a grieving lover, an orchestra, the wind—even finding a way to imitate an e-mail. He comes by his silence honestly. He’s deaf.

The film follows the ups and downs of an artist’s life. Max isn’t famous or wealthy. But he has the gift of talent. and a will to never give up.