About

20-something Kyrgyz migrant Ayka has just given birth and now she’s wrenching open a window on to a snow-filled street to flee the hospital and make it to her job plucking chickens. Today is payday and unless she’s there on time, she won’t get the money. Even though she’s still in recovery she has no means to support a child and it’s best if she leaves them behind. This begins the tour-de-force Ayka which powerfully questions the predicament of women, in particular, the precarious existence of migrants from Central Asian regions who seek work in neighbouring Russia. The film stars the brilliant Samal Yeslyamova as Ayka – a role for which she won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival 2018 for her fearless performance. Shot in a documentary style that lends the story an immediate authenticity, this is director Sergey Dvortsevoy’s second feature, whose first film Tulpan 2008 won the Prix Un Certain Regard at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

Ages 18+ | Adult themes