Sevastopol is the biggest Ukrainian port harbor of the “mighty” Russian fleet. During one hot summer we get to know the local population from crazy teenagers to frustrated ex-sailors, all trying to find happiness in this amazing microcosm. People such as handsome 14-year-old Push, who finds mopeds much cooler than girl, or shy 13-year-old Nastja, still mourning her lost first love, spend their summer together on the pier. Even 80-year-old Galina still has a few tears to spare for the bass voice of her erstwhile lover, but not before she completes her morning swim at Apolonovka’s run-down beach. And then again there’s wiry, long-distance swimmer Sergej who, despite his 85 years, would certainly never consider neglecting the “third point” of health – sex. Finally we meet Vova and Andrej on the pier: one a tattooed former prisoner the other a discharged police officer – now working together illegally as divers next to the ships of the Black See Fleet. They symbolize Sevastopol’s dilemma: too impoverished for splendour or glory, but way too alive & kicking for the scrap heap.
Wasteland (1997), Jailbirds (2005), The Pier of Apolonovka (2008)
