CritterFest: The Ark

The Ark is an improbable tale of the transcendent relationship between a people and their land, as amid constant danger, a Ukrainian family’s home transforms into a refuge for chickens, donkeys, horses, emus and hundreds of displaced animals abandoned by war. Zhenye and Anatoly Pilipenko’s dream of a quiet place in the country is shattered overnight as a Russian missile explodes over their house on the first night of war. As rockets fall and fires rage, they face an impossible choice: flee the violence at their doorstep or stay and protect the home they dreamed of building for years. When a soldier on his way to the frontline asks the couple if they could care for his goats - all 37 of them - while he fights in the trenches; Practically overnight, Anatoly an Zhenye’s home transforms into the largest animal sanctuary in Eastern Ukraine. From rescued chickens, displaced donkeys, wandering horses and even emus, Anatoly and Zhenye risk their lives and livelihoods to rescue any part of Ukraine they can - including the wounded and defenseless animals scattered across the country from the war. Told primarily through verité, amidst constant danger, heartbreaking loss and improbably an inextinguishable reservoir of hope, Zhenye and Anatoly’s sanctuary stands as a defiant testament to the unbreakable bond between a nation, its people, and the land they refuse to surrender.