UFF 2025: Fragments of Ice

Fragments of Ice captures personal, political, and social developments, edited together from fifteen VHS tapes covering the period 1986 to 1994. These include video diaries shot by the director’s father, a champion figure-skater, during his foreign tours with the Ukrainian Ensemble Ballet on Ice, as well as scenes from his own home.

As we follow director Maria Stoianova growing up, we witness the parallel collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukraine’s journey towards regaining its independence, followed by its transition to a market economy. Expectations reflected in the glamorous footage of the West, shot by Stoianova’s father on his tours, contrast starkly with the home video images of peeling walls, collapsed ceilings, and cockroaches in the family flat.

Fragments of Ice portrays both the broad sweep of history and its deep impact on real people’s lives, culminating in a new upheaval: the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. ‘The End of History never happened,’ Stoianova reflects. ‘It froze and caught up with us years later.’

Followed by a Q&A with the director Maria Stoianova