DOXA 2016 review: The Babushkas of Chernobyl

(USA/Ukraine)

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      A revealing portrait of three stubborn seniors who refuse to follow the status quo after the 1986 nuclear accident that displaced 160,000 people, The Babushkas of Chernobyl is a testament to the resilience and determination that only come with old age.

      After returning to the exclusion zone—2,600 square kilometres of land deemed by the U.S.S.R. military too unsafe to inhabit—these women live as if the villages they once called home aren’t poisoned by toxic radiation. Growing food, catching fish, and raising animals, these self-sustaining, spry babushkas defy their age, outliving those who relocated, despite their daily yard work and penchants for vodka and moonshine.

      Having suffered famine and war, they show no fear when officials reveal to them that their villages are still contaminated. “Starvation is what scares me, not radiation,” says Hanna Zavorotyna. Directed and produced by Holly Morris, this rousing and at times haunting documentary raises the question: what is more deadly—the anguish of being displaced or radiation?

      Showtimes

      Places to go nearby

      Approx. 15 minutes away

      Comments