The Voice of Ljudmila

Colour, 35mm
Sweden, 2001, 75 min
Section: Documentary Films in Competition

Synopsis

In April 1986 Lyudmila Ignatenko was five months pregnant when she celebrated her 23rd birthday. She and her husband Vasili lived in Pripyat, a town built near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. On the night of April 25th fireman Vasili was called to help with the reactor accident. As he left he said to his wife, “Go back to bed; I’ll wake you when I come home.” This documentary concerns a woman who lost her husband to a catastrophe that happened more than fifteen years ago, but who has yet to receive a satisfactory explanation for any of it. With Lyudmila’s own voice as a guide, the filmmaker returned to the place where joy was exchanged for pain and suffering. This vivid journey into the past, however, testifies to the narrator’s determination not to forget, to hold on to her memories, however painful.

About the director

Gunnar Bergdahl (b. 1951, Stockholm) graduated in journalism from the University of Göteborg. He works as a film critic and director of the Göteborg film festival. In 1997 he shot The Voice of Bergman (Bergmans röst). The Voice of Ljudmila is his second feature-length documentary. His latest film, Ingmar Bergman; Intermezzo was screened in the Quinzaine des réalisateurs section at this year´s Cannes IFF.