A graduation film about someone who is also graduating would be the shortest possible summary of The Pit (as in orchestra).

The film follows an aspiring conductor named Denis during his last examination pieces at Ukraine’s National Music Academy in Kiev. Denis is graduating with a performance of Rossini's The Barber of Seville and has 35 days to perfect the opera with a school orchestra and singers. But which version will he perform: one with cuts or a new edition? Will the orchestra ever play in time? A critical teacher provides some biting commentary. Denis’s conducting lacks soul – he’s not really ready yet.

The Pit is located almost entirely in the beautiful Music Academy building and takes the form of an opera, with an overture, acts and a real intermezzo. Slightly stylized images show Denis’s trials and tribulations without commentary. The film’s motto is “Per aspera ad astra”: a rough road leads to the stars.

Will Denis make it in the end?

Dir. Anton Yaremchuk - 26min - 2016 - Ukraine - Languages: Ukranian, Russian - Subtitles: English