At the Edge of the Abyss - У края бездны

directed: Maxim Fadeev RU 2022 3h 38m

March 2022. Mariupol must be taken. The "Somali" battalion of the Donetsk People's Republic is part of a force sent to assault the fortified city. As they approach Mariupol, little do they grasp what would happen to the city over the coming weeks, the sheer scale of the catastrophe.

What hardships would befall the civilians? And who among the soldiers would see it through to the end, alive?

For two months a strike team led by an officer with the codename "Sparrow" / "Vorobey" fought in close quarters combat, building to building and street after street, forcing a numerically superior foe to retreat into the Azovstal complex, a gigantic metallurgical factory dominating the city. It would become a fortress for the Ukrainian "Azov" battalion. (Note added May 27: And the place of their eventual surrender!)

Maxim Fadeed was there on the frontlines with the forward assault teams of the "Somali" battalion. He spent four weeks in the fires of war. He was witness to and immortalized key events, the drama and the tragedies as well as the victory, in his new documentary, "At the edge of the abyss".

None of the film's protagonists have survived. The footage serves as a poignant tribute to the fallen battalion, who back in March 2022 were unaware of their impending fate.

The film is sobering and poignant, yet profoundly significant: the creators aimed to convey through this account the harsh reality of actual warfare, devoid of glamour and romanticism.