Grace

A father and daughter travel about in a van on the outskirts of rural Russia. Their van is their home and workplace – a traveling cinema. The daughter is now a teenager, and their relation reticent after long lives on the road. The movie describes how they struggle to live ordinary lives within the boundaries of the van. At the same time, Grace paints a picture of the everyday conditions in the outskirts of the Russian Federation.

Grace is director Ilya Povolotsky’s feature film debut and a solid road movie without a destination. Gela Chitava and Maria Lukyanova do good role performances while depicting a process of separation and a relationship worn out by their vagabond lifestyle. Besides the father and daughter relationship, the photos of Nikolai Zheludovich are one of the film's main features. Zheludovich presents meditative shots from Russia’s diverse landscapes – both natural and built – shots that reference Tarkovsky’s photo techniques and in a similar style as Hlynur Pálmason’s Godland.