Ayka – My Little One

  • a film by Sergey Dvortsevoy
  • feature film
  • 110 min
  • 2018

Ayka just gave birth. She can't afford to raise a child. She has no job, debts to be paid, not even a room of her own. But there is no way to suppress her natural instincts.

TrailerOnline stream
Info

  • Genre

    • Drama

  • Countries of Production

    • Germany / Russia / Poland / Kazakhstan / China

  • Language

    • Russian / Kyrgyz

  • World premiere

    • 18th May 2018 – Cannes FF

  • German cinema release

    • 18th April 2019

  • a production by

    • Pallas Film, Kinodvor, Otter Film, Eurasia Film Production, Juben Pictures

  • in association with

    • ZDF / Arte

  • with the support of

    • Eurimages, MDM – Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, Russian Ministry of Culture, Polish Film Institute

  • World Sales

    • The Match Factory

  • Distribution

    • Neue Visionen
Synopsis

Ayka, a young Kyrgyz woman living illegally in Moscow, abandons her newborn son in the hospital after giving birth. Desperate to repay her debts amid constant creditor threats, she takes any grueling job—plucking chickens, cleaning, shoveling snow—while grappling with post-birth pain and the pull of maternal instinct.

Cast

  • Ayka 

    • Samal Yesyamova

  • Chinara

    • Zhipargul Abdilaeva

  • apartment owner 

    • David Alaverdyan

  • veterinarian

    • Sergey Mazur

  • car wash owner

    • Slava Agashkin

  • poultry production supervisor

    • Ashkat Kuchinchirekov
Crew

  • Written by

    • Gennady Ostrovsky, Sergey Dvortsevoy

  • Directed by

    • Sergey Dvortsevoy

  • Producers

    • Thanassis Karathanos, Sergey Dvortsevoy, Anna Wydra, Martin Hampel
    • Ko-Produzenten: Gulnara Sarsenova, Li Zhu, Luna Wang, Michel Merkt

  • Director of photography

    • Jolanta Dylewska

  • Editor

    • Sergey Dvortsevoy, Petar Markovic

  • Set design

    • Olga Jurasova

  • Costume

    • Aleksandra Demidova

  • Sound

    • Maksim Belovolov, Martin Frühmorgen, Joanna Napieralska, Holger Lehmann
Festivals
  • Cannes IFF
  • Asian Film Awards
  • Polish Film Awards
  • Bergen IFF
  • Films from the South (Norwegen)
  • Tallinn Black Nights International Film Festival
  • Asia Pacific Screen Award
  • All about Freedom Festival
  • Palm Springs IFF
  • Sputnik Russian FF
  • Taipei Golden Horse FF
  • Göteborg Film Festival
  • International Antalya Film Festival
  • FF Cottbus
  • Tokyo FILMex
Awards
  • Best Actress / Cannes FF
  • Best Actress / Asian Film Awards
  • Nomination – Best Camera (Jolanta Dylewska) / Polish Film Awards
  • Best Film – Cinema Extraodinaire Award / Bergen IFF (Norway)
  • Best Director – New Voices Award / Films from the South (Norway)
  • Best Film / All about Freedom Festival (Poland)
  • Nomination – FIPRESCI Awards / Palm Springs IFF
  • Best Actress / Int. Antalya FF
  • Best Film / FF Cottbus
  • Grand Prize / Tokyo FILMex

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