ARTDOCFEST RIGA
Like a bird in the sky, a small Ukrainian flag is flattering on the car of two ‘sheriffs’, the men elected by the locals in an Eastern Ukrainian village to protect them. The sheriffs save a woman from a snake; they help a local bum Kolya move into a desolate house hoping he will finally get on the right track; they save an illiterate Indian man from an inevitable arrest.
Thick winter fog. The war rages in the east of the country. Men receive enlistment notices. Children write letters to soldiers and prepare packages with tins and warm underwear to be sent to the front. A pro-Russian separatist appears in the village. For these people the state is their village. The spring comes and everything comes alive for a new beginning. The sheriffs gold-paint a statue to an unknown soldier who won the previous war. In spring they usually celebrate the Victory Day, although the victory in today’s war is not to be seen.
