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A House Made of Splinters

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01:43

A House Made of Splinters

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Summary

Children and staff in a special kind of home: an institution for children who have been removed from their homes while awaiting court custody decisions. Staff do their best to make the time children have there safe and supportive.

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IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Jane Rackham

This Oscar-nominated documentary presents life at the Lysychansk Centre, a halfway house in eastern Ukraine for children who have been neglected by their parents. Filmed before the 2022 invasion of the country by Russia, the film spends time with various kids as they wait for the courts to decide whether to send them to an orphanage. It's relentlessly grim viewing, lightened occasionally by the kindness of the centre's staff. Director Simon Lereng Wilmont maintains an observational style and eschews commentary as he allows his young participants to discuss their own, often heartbreaking, experiences. The children's faces reveal everything: rejection, pain, disappointment and the hope that their parents - many of whom suffer from alcoholism - will sober up enough to collect them, or visit, or simply answer the phone when they call.

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7.2/10

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Credits

Crew

rolenameDirectorSimon Lereng Wilmont

Details

Languages

Russian | Ukrainian

Formats

Colour

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