Outside

Production year: 2022
Country: Ukraine
Director: Olha Zhurba
Producers: Darya Bassel & Viktoria Khomenko
Co-producter: Anne Köncke

After his mother was deprived of parental rights, 13-years-old Roma escapes to the heart of the Ukrainian revolution and quickly becomes a star there. His childhood experience of survival in a devastating environment turns into his advantage. Here, for the first time in his life, Roman boy Roma is accepted by society. In the aftermath of the revolution, Roma ends up at an orphanage. He slowly grows up in the system that provides only some conditional assistance, leaving him alone with his traumas.

When he turns 18, Roma is expelled from the orphanage and doesn’t get any support from the social services or his family. He returns to his native town Yahotyn and gradually immerses in the criminal world. His older brother Kolya, who was just released from prison, is among the few people who care about him. The independent life is a challenge for Roma: he tries to find a job and to abstain from drugs, but his efforts are futile. However, hope is always looming somewhere in the future.