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Storyville

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Storyville

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1997

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Documentary

Summary

BBC documentary strand featuring contemporary one-off films from around the world that cover a wide range of genres and subjects and have compelling narratives and character-based stories.

Sanatorium

Summary

A look at a Soviet-era sanatorium on the shores of Odesa, Ukraine, where thousands arrive each summer in search of healing. Following a cast of patients and staff navigating daily life under the shadow of conflict, while they search for love, healing and happiness amidst the ongoing war close by

Review

Gabriel Tate

After Mr Nobody against Putin comes another Storyville scrutinising the War in Ukraine, this time through a humane, gently mischievous take on a shabby Odesa health resort whose residents have sought out the recuperative qualities of its black mud. They range from a mother hoping to marry off her son to a soldier undergoing rehab after an injury on the frontline. It’s a beguilingly strange portrait of everyday people trying to continue normal life under the most testing of circumstances.