Starting at Sundance last year, where the film won the Directing Award, “A House Made Of Splinters” has gone on to be nominated for: a Film Independent Spirit Award, IDA Awards for Best Documentary, Best Director and Cinematography, Cinema Eye Honors for Production and Cinematography, and a European Film Award for Best Documentary.

The documentary is a poignant and deeply intimate documentary three kids temporarily removed from their parents find friendship and flickers of hope inside the worn walls of a remarkable orphanage in Eastern Ukraine, as a group of dedicated social-workers create moments of joy and respite from childhoods all but lost.

In this war-worn and impoverished corner of Eastern Ukraine where addiction casts a long shadow, there sits a safe haven for children temporarily removed from their parents. A House Made of Splinters follows three kids awaiting their fate: will they go back or move on to a new home, while as a group of dedicated social-workers create small moments of joy and respite from childhoods all but lost.

The film is ffilmmaker Simon Lereng Wilmont’s follow-up to his acclaimed first feature, The Distant Barking of Dogs, offering a unique look into how the long-term consequences of war on a society already under strain impacts the most vulnerable. His is a poignant and deeply intimate portrait of a remarkable way station filled with care, support, and trust for a group of kids who are in desperate need of more.

See the trailer below for “A House Made Of Splinters”: