Scottish premiere; part of the Panorama Section at the Berlin International Film Festival
Wheelchair accessible, English subtitles, Pay-what-you-can tickets (£0-£8)
If you want to attend this screening but find it unaffordable, you may be able to have the cost of your ticket, commute, and/or childcare covered by the Audience Access Fund — see here for further details.
Tonya Noyabrova’s Do You Love Me? explores the turbulent era of the early 1990s through the intimate coming-of-age story of Kira, a 16-year-old girl navigating young adulthood during the collapse of the Soviet Union. Set in Kyiv between 1990 and 1991, the film reflects the disintegration of Kira’s privileged, intellectual family in parallel with the dissolution of the USSR. The way in which Kira’s journey toward adulthood is marked by personal loss and emotional upheaval rhymes with Ukraine’s own challenging transition to independence.
Noyabrova's meticulous recreation of its setting immerses the viewer in a sensory experience: every detail, from costume to sound design, authentically evokes the period. Drawing on the directors’s own childhood memories, the film presents a semi-autobiographical narrative, blending personal history with the universal themes of adolescence, identity, and belonging. The central question — ‘Do you love me?’ — echoes throughout the film, capturing Kira's search for validation in a rapidly changing world.
Content notes: suicide attempt
Curated by Natalia Guzevataya
Trailer
