MUSHKA tells the story of the Ukrainian girl Sarah who raises a Siberian tiger during the 1970s. She calls him Mushka, when she discovers an “M” shaped birthmark on the tiger cub’s forehead. The word Mushka is a Russian term of endearment, like sweetheart.
As the tiger grows into adulthood, Sarah finds out that a few shady people in the village plan to kill and sell him for profit. In an effort to save him she takes Mushka deep into the forest to the same spot where she found him as an orphaned cub. Sarah hopes that her tiger will stay in the forest and learn how to be a wild animal, far away from any humans.
The story’s theme can be summed up like this: Having to let go of someone you love is the hardest thing, but life has a way to provide hope and happiness again.
The Coronado Island Film Festival (CIFF) welcomes makers and lovers of film from all over the world to the storied seaside village of Coronado, California to celebrate the magical art of visual storytelling. Coronado’s enduring love affair with Hollywood began more than a century ago.