Russian forces occupied the port city of Kherson for several months, but Ukraine recaptured it in November 2022. Now, the Russians are entrenched on the other side of the Dnipro River, barely five kilometers away—the thunder of rocket strikes and the hum of drones can be heard day and night. The largely destroyed buildings stand abandoned, and there are barely any people on the streets.
Between evacuations, those who have stayed behind try to carry on with their daily lives: playing cards, drinking coffee together, feeding stray dogs, and tending their vegetable gardens. Four of them talk about their love for the city and about the years before the war, which they can barely imagine anymore.
The black-and-white footage, shot between 2023 and 2025, evokes a sense of time standing still, a feeling that weighs heavily on the residents of the besieged city. They wonder aloud how much longer they can endure this war of attrition, this life in limbo. More than the bombs, which they have by now learned to shrug off with resignation, they mourn the irreversible loss of time.
Stills
