Sasha runs a business at the Kyiv cemetery that installs tombstones for the deceased. Face to face with his customers’ personal tragedies, he maintains a cynical stance towards the world. But this stance turns out to be a mask concealing serious trauma from his past. When Sasha’s adolescent daughter shows up one day, this exhausted 35-year-old finds a new reason to live. Taranenko’s tragicomedy about private things lost and found compellingly blends a powerful personal drama with a crime story from the Ukrainian underworld.

Oleksii Taranenko

This Ukrainian native is a well-rounded creator with experience in animation, documentary work, and advertising. His feature-length debut I Work at the Cemetery has reaped several awards along its circuit among international film festivals, including one for the best live-action film at the Munich festival and a camera award at Italy’s Montelupo Fiorentino.