Saturday, 26 April 1986. A reactor tower has exploded in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The Communist Party leadership remains silent. But Valery Kabysh, a one-time percussionist and now a young, loyal Party official, observes the panic of those in charge and realizes that every second counts. In this carefree weekend bustle, every attempt to flee is doomed. A wedding that calls for music till the very end. Vera has to sing, the musicians have to play. Even when Valery's band knows what is really going on, they continue to celebrate. “For a long time I wanted to shoot “filmic metaphor“ about the Chernobyl catastrophe. Not a documentary, not a blockbuster, not a film about who pressed the wrong button when... What really fascinated me was the question as to why people who knew about the catastrophe did not escape the city. Perhaps the danger was invisible? For people who live unreflectingly, obviously, who are satisfied with their everyday lives – for them it is the many little pleasant aspects of life that become increasingly valuable in such circumstances. When life has become intolerable and is reaching its end, it blossoms one last time before it vanishes...”, says Alexander Mindadze.
