Family Portrait in Black and White (2011)

Olga Nenya is raising sixteen black children in Ukraine where 99.9% of the population is white and where race DOES matter. The reality of growing up as a bi-racial child in Eastern Europe - a rare and truly visible minority - is not for the faint of heart. Forced to constantly defend themselves from racist neighbors and skinheads, these children have to be on guard against the world that surrounds them. No one is related by blood in this family, but everyone is connected by the color of their skin and by the woman who chose to be their mother. Ukrainians don't lend Olga a hand, but Westerners do: a British charity bought them a house and the kids spend their summers with host families in Europe. When a European couple offers to adopt one of the kids, Olga refuses despite being aware of what awaits a black Ukrainian beyond the protective shield of her family. This film is a multi-dimensional portrait of one family, the country they live in, and the bigger world they are a part of.