Lesia Kordonets
Switzerland | 2021 | 102 min
World premiere
Languages : English, Ukrainian
Subtitles : French, English

In 2014, the Winter Paralympic Games took place at the same time as the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. Following five Ukrainian athletes forced to adapt their personal and professional lives to the ongoing armed conflict, Pushing Boundaries is a pertinent reflection on the capacities of humans to push the boundaries between two countries, and those of their own body. 

In March 2014, the Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi took place at the same time as the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The slogan of the sporting event, “Pushing Boundaries”, was applied militarily: Ukraine lost an entire region, and the national team lost its training camp, located on the Crimean Peninsula. For several months, Lesia Kordonets followed five Ukrainian Paralympic athletes in the midst of their preparations to qualify for the next Games in Rio de Janeiro, forced to adapt their personal and professional lives to the ongoing armed conflict. Day after day, the protagonists push back their physical limits while the political limits of the territories they live on are constantly renegotiated. Blending archival footage, interviews with public figures, training sessions and scenes of domestic intimacy, Pushing Boundaries articulates a pertinent reflection on the tendencies and capacities of mankind to push the boundaries between two countries, and those of one’s own body. 

Camille Kaiser

Forum 2021

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Sales contact
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National Competition

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