Carolyn Combs

Carmen Aguirre and Tony Nardi star in a remarkable story of friends, lovers, seekers and thieves. Set at the intersection of the Latin American, First Nations and Italian communities, "Bella Ciao!" captures a struggle towards solidarity in East Vancouver's urban mix.

A sister and brother deal with a crippling family tragedy in their own way in this independent drama. Katya (Stephanie Hayes and Slawko (Billy Marchenski) are two siblings in their twenties who were born in the Ukraine but have emigrated to Canada and now live amidst the industrial wastelands of Vancouver. Slawko works in a factory and tries to look after his emotionally unstable sister. Katya, on the other hand, is convinced the death of her parents was the result of foul play, possibly at the hands of Petrov (Volodymyr Serdyuk), a political activist and longtime friend of the family. Katya believes she can speak to her late mother, and often finds herself communicating with her and Petrov through psychic means as she struggles to come to terms with a past that prevents her from dealing with the present.

Carmen Aguirre and Tony Nardi star in a remarkable story of friends, lovers, seekers and thieves. Set at the intersection of the Latin American, First Nations and Italian communities, "Bella Ciao!" captures a struggle towards solidarity in East Vancouver's urban mix.

Carmen Aguirre and Tony Nardi star in a remarkable story of friends, lovers, seekers and thieves. Set at the intersection of the Latin American, First Nations and Italian communities, "Bella Ciao!" captures a struggle towards solidarity in East Vancouver's urban mix.

A sister and brother deal with a crippling family tragedy in their own way in this independent drama. Katya (Stephanie Hayes and Slawko (Billy Marchenski) are two siblings in their twenties who were born in the Ukraine but have emigrated to Canada and now live amidst the industrial wastelands of Vancouver. Slawko works in a factory and tries to look after his emotionally unstable sister. Katya, on the other hand, is convinced the death of her parents was the result of foul play, possibly at the hands of Petrov (Volodymyr Serdyuk), a political activist and longtime friend of the family. Katya believes she can speak to her late mother, and often finds herself communicating with her and Petrov through psychic means as she struggles to come to terms with a past that prevents her from dealing with the present.