– Estonia-based animator Natalia Mirzoyan’s documentary road-film captures the difficulties of political exile
Winner of the top prize at Animateka in Ljubljana (to add to its earlier successes, including at Sarajevo), Winter in March is based on a true story about a young Russian couple spurred to abandon their homeland because of the war. Helplessness and sadness accompany the nameless pair’s decision throughout the film: the difficulties they face on their journey to Georgia transform this short “road movie” into a surreal, Kafka-inflected nightmare.
Stop-motion animation contrasts the softness of handcrafted puppets with the harsh darkness of the narration. Greyish tones, a lack of colour in the visual scheme created by animators Mirzoyan and Rebeka Kruus, plus a haunting soundtrack by composer Evgeny Fedorov and sound-recordist Sander Põldsaar, all contribute to a distinctly eerie and cold atmosphere.
There are several uncanny episodes that leave the viewer unsettled. For example, when the male protagonist reads news about the war, online posts suddenly become alive, flying out of the laptop and enveloping his body until his partner arrives to save him.
The female character dreams of being alone and nude in the snow. Her fear of being separated from her partner at the border of Russia manifests in this metaphorical dream, where the snow level keeps rising until it completely swallows her bare body.
Ultimately, the threat of being torn apart does not occur while the duo are crossing the Russian border but only afterward, when they have successfully escaped the country. They break up: he remains in Georgia, but she moves to Serbia.
Through its intimate focus on one couple’s emotional turmoil, Winter in March captures the weight that political violence places on ordinary lives. Mirzoyan’s short becomes not only a portrait of displacement, but also a quiet reminder of how war reshapes relationships, identities and futures. Its poetic imagery lingers long after the final frame, leaving viewers to reflect on the true cost(s) of conflict.
