Velya dreams of traveling to the USA, seeing Chicago, getting to know the birth place of House music. But the authorities are putting a spoke in her wheel. As a burgeoning DJane, she has no place of work, and without that she won’t receive a visa. Her desire for the American Dream brings her from Minsk to the remote village Khrustal. Having arrived there, she stumbles into the wedding preparations of a dysfunctional family. Without meaning to, Velya enters dependency. But not all wish her well.

Crystal Swan captivates with its protagonist, who finds herself alone in a grey, shrouded world and gets further and further away from her dreams. The republic of Belarus in its discovery phase of the 90’s makes for a place of events that is abound with history and fraught with meaning.

Through the support of HessenFilm und Medien and the Frankfurt producer Birgit Gernböck, as well as the sound post-production by the Frankfurt-based FunDeMental Studios, Darya Zhuk’s feature film debut is strongly connected with the Rhine-Main region.

Crystal Swan is the first submission by Belarus to the Academy Awards since 1996. The Russian Guild of Film Critics honored the film as Best Debut, and the Milan Film Festival nominated Crystal Swan as the best feature film in the “International Competition”.