When Lightning Flashes Over the Sea, interview with director Eva Neymann

February 15, 2025

Eva Neymann director of When Lightning Flashes Over the Sea highlights the enduring dreams and strength of Odesa's people.

When Lightning Flashes Over the Sea, interview with director Eva Neymann Cristiana Palmieri

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In “When Lightning Flashes Over the Sea“, director Eva Neymann captures the resilience of Odesa’s residents amidst war, highlighting the enduring dreams and strength of Odesa’s people.

Neymann‘s personal experiences during the war deeply influenced the documentary’s perspective, adding an incredible layer of authenticity to the narration .

The title of the film is a tribute to the hope that dreams will always come true when a lightning flashes over the sea….

Plot

Day labourers smoke while looking at the Black Sea, workmen stretch out on the roof of the damaged cathedral, a boy manoeuvres us through the sunny streets and courtyards of Odesa while he dreams of a medium-size chocolate cake for his birthday and a job on a cruise ship. Yet this cheerful everyday life is tempered by a feeling of unease, for the many gaps – the holes in the historical facades, the absence of family members or the darkness caused by the power blackouts – render the omnipresence of the war far more shocking than its deceptively far-off rumblings. The memories, experiences and dreams of the astounding people that Eva Neymann shows on her extended, attentive expedition through the harbour city become a means of survival. A refugee from Abkhazia, a nomadic clergyman, a widow who takes care of street cats, a single father whose sons live on different sides of the front, a Shoah survivor and many more give us seldom insights into the reality of a place surrounded by myths, a poetic space full of resilient humanity.

Written by: Cristiana Palmieri

Guest

Eva Neymann

Film

When Lightning Flashes Over the Sea

Festival

Berlinale

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