Zoya Laktionova
Mariupol is now synonymous with siege and destruction. But for filmmaker-photographer Zoya Laktionova (b. 1984)—see also Maria Stoianova’s Ma—her home town’s waterside has long been a complex, painful locus of memory. Laktionova’s collaboration with fellow Kyiv resident Tetiana Kornieieva (b.1993), a graphic-designer and illustrator, yields a hauntingly melancholic snapshot of littoral landscapes which already exude a post-apocalyptic air even before 2022’s onslaught. Stark scenes are counterpointed by narration recalling joyous seaside childhoods from bygone decades—before the tide’s tragic turn. (N.Y.)