Life is harsh in the Russian Arctic tundra, it can even seem hostile. Renato Borrayo Serrano delivers an incredible debut feature, capturing a bygone era, a traditional way of life that is vanishing like the ice. Through raw and unfiltered imagery, he employs a direct cinema approach that seems to have no impact or interaction with reality. It is precisely here that Life of Ivanna draws its poetic and staggering strength: a raw chronicle of one of the last nomadic peoples on Earth, the Nenets, living according to the seasons, the travels, and the whims of nature. Pulled by a snowmobile and reindeer, Ivanna's hut slide 200 km south to reunite with the children's father, violent, his face bruised and ravaged by alcohol. Ivanna, a courageous mother, had no choice but to take on multiple roles: matriarch, protector, educator, decision-maker, and traveler. The next stop is the port city of Dudinka in Siberia. There, amidst a daunting row of buildings, the children wander in an unfamiliar urban landscape that appears surreal to them, a risky transition from the nomadic to the sedentary world. Life of Ivanna was my favorite at the 2021 Hot Docs festival. It captivated me by its breathtaking dramatization of reality, making us privileged witnesses to a world that resists but is threatened to collapse under the influence of modern civilization.

Bruno Boëz
Producer, critic and programmer