Description: Spanning several years of political and relational strife, Ivan and Phoebe closely follows a young man's experience coming of age during the climax of the Ukrainian revolution.
Ivan is a recent college graduate eager to leave behind his involvement in student protests against the Soviet government in 1990s Ukraine. Tired and battered, he returns to his hometown in hopes of finding solace in the comforting familiarity of Uzhgorod; however, the emotional baggage of leaving the revolution weighs heavily upon him. Phoebe is a staunch feminist and aspiring poet. Growing up in a family intent on silencing her voice, she channels her pain through writing. When the pair meet, they fall in love and eventually into a loveless marriage. The fractured relationship presented in Ivan and Phoebe mirrors the complex political climate of late 20th-century Ukraine.