Songs of Youth

A photograph from the past triggers filmmaker Konstatnin Selezen’s journey into the maze of half-forgotten memories, and prompts him to leave for his ex-homeland in search of things past. The voyage takes an unexpected turn when he accidentally meets Kostia, a victim of the post-perestroika chaos in the present-day Ukraine, who supports his blind wife and two children ( who he hopes will become famous movie stars) on small change that he earns by playing on city squares. “Songs of Youth” takes us onto Kostia’s routes to earning his daily bread, from his humble home in the village somewhat ironically named “Profit” to the famous Odessa Steps, now a cacophony of street music and hawkers, where Kosia outshines even the most irrepressible performers struggling for a place under the sun. Between songs Kostia intimately shares the joys and sorrows of his living, musing on love, death, suicide, hope, harmony and vision. His somewhat prophetic vision of the world becomes a link to a reality that most people look at but do not see.