Family Portrait in Black and White / Obiteljski portret u crno - bijelom

Family Portrait in Black and White

In Competition > Documentaries

HOT DOCS FILM FESTIVAL CANADA 2011. - Best Canadian Feature

Olga Nenya is raising sixteen orphans (among whom are those of black skin) in Ukraine where 99.9% of the population is white and where race DOES matter. The reality of growing up as a bi-racial child in Eastern Europe - a rare and truly visible minority - is not for the faint of heart. Forced to constantly defend themselves from racist neighbors and skinheads, these children have to be on guard against the world that surrounds them. No one is related by blood in this family, but everyone is connected by the color of their skin and by the woman who chose to be their mother.

Julia Ivanova, a Canadian documentary film director and editor, grew up in Moscow and was trained at the Russian Film Institute (VGIK). After immigrating to Canada in 1995, Julia together with her brother Boris Ivanov self-produced their first documentary. Some of her films are: ““Fatherhood Dreams”, “Love Translated”, “From Russia, for love”....