Women Without Men: The Moving Stories of Ukrainian Refugees in Latvia

Director Marina Nazarenko is the author of two documentaries and several television programs. Her life changed rapidly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when bombs started falling on the opposite side of the street. Marina left with the children, but her husband stayed in Kyiv, where he was involved in the supply of the army.

While in Latvia, the director could not sit still and wanted to find an opportunity to show stories about Ukrainian women who have arrived in Latvia – broken families and challenges they face while trying to build a new life here, interspersed with hopes to return home as soon as possible. However, not all of them have homes to return to – only piles of rubble and pictures on the phone remain from Tatiana and Katarina’s homes.

“No outsider could make a film like Marina has made. Other Ukrainian women reveal themselves to her as their own, cry with her on the screen, share personal stories about the way away from the war zone,”

says film producer and director Una Celma.

“Ukrainian women have to deal with a much greater burden of responsibilities in a foreign land because family ties have been broken or changed. In this film, we focused directly on women whose families have broken up when they came to Latvia – many have left their husbands in war zones, others have sons, but one of our heroines has also taken care of several relatives’ children in order to give them the opportunity to live normally and train in their favorite sport in the country , where peace reigns,” Una Celma assesses.

In the film “Women without men” you can hear the stories of its heroes about what they experienced in the war and the way to safety in Latvia, which will serve as an important document of this time, and also you can see the amazing strength of these women, the daily hardships and joys they go through together with their families. The film was made in cooperation with the National Cinema Center, the Goethe Institute in Riga, “Capital.lv”, “Wolt”, Riga City Council and the representative office of the British Council in Latvia.

2023-11-28 14:58:25
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