WNDX Feature Documentary: Feet in Water, Head on Fire
Pay What You Can
Dir. Simon Lereng Wilmont
2022, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Ukraine, 87 min
Ukrainian and Russian with English subtitles
In this poignant and deeply intimate documentary three kids temporarily removed from their parents find friendship and flickers of hope inside the worn walls of a remarkable orphanage in Eastern Ukraine, as a group of dedicated social workers create moments of joy and respite from childhoods all but lost.
There are no easy answers, but Simon Lereng Wilmont’s careful camerawork and clear rapport with the children lead to uncommonly candid footage and, occasionally, a sense of hope.
– Alissa Wilkinson, Vox
With a camera that feels both urgent and unassuming, Wilmont proves he’s unambiguously earned the trust of his tiny subjects of colossal worries-a feat on so many different levels that concerns both outstanding filmmaking and exemplary humanism.
– Tomris Laffly, Harper’s Bazaar
