Raised by her protective mother by the Black Sea, the outbreak of war has forced 12-year-old Vlada to leave home and move in with a mysterious family friend in a peripheral city in Europe. Typically, her lifeworld, immersed in the metaverse as an upcoming XR talent, and that of her caregiver 'A' rarely intersect. Yet, sensing the necessity, he begins to teach Vlada how to protect herself by outsmarting systems she is part of – particularly those which exist outside of the protection of either her mother or by any stable societal institutions.

Scent of Time depicts a contemporary coming-of-age story of a young girl who is grappling with different ideological influences growing up in the mid-2020s. Diving into topics such as exile, shifting worldviews and the awakening of self-determination, the narrative takes place partly in the protagonist's subconscious mind in which her different experiences and dilemmas are expressed from an embodied perspective through dance.

The film title is derived from the book "Scent of Time" by philosopher Byung-Chul Han. In a series of essays, he compares East-Asian incense-based time-keeping methods with the Western clock to re-value contemplative time against the pressure of being consumed by the concept of ‘work’. Scent of Time explores ways to broaden his approach, taking distance not only from work under contemporary capitalism, but from any kind of value paradigm that has the power to consume its participants. The visual narration of the film is centered around a large incense clock which accompanies Vlada in her liminal journey.

Music by Tarawangsawelas / Costume by Darsha Golova / Performed by Polina Hordieevska