Sanatorium
Gar O'Rourke / Ireland, Ukraine & France / 2025 / World Premiere / 90 min
At a colossal ex-Soviet wellness center in Odesa, both patients and staff search for health, happiness and love while the war echoes through the lime green corridors.
Every summer, people of all ages arrive in their thousands at a huge ex-Soviet treatment center in Odesa on the southern coast of Ukraine. A time capsule from the 70s, built in the brutalist style of the era, it still offers therapeutic treatments from the glory days of the Soviet Union.
The main attraction is the mysterious mud which is believed to cure infertility, chronic ailments and a myriad of other health problems. But it soon turns out that the many guests are really searching for happiness and love above all else. ‘Sanatorium’ follows the stories of the guests and staff during a summer season like no other where war is echoing through the pink and lime green corridors of the sanatorium.
With an incredible cast of characters, a brilliant sense of tragicomic timing and a warm eye for human quirks, ‘Sanatorium’ is above all a profound declaration of love for the Ukrainian people and their indomitable resilience.