Slovak filmmaker Martin Gonda's debut feature film Flood is set in the early 1980s in the Starina valley of present-day north-eastern Slovakia. The film revisits a historical event: the compulsory evacuation of seven predominantly Rusyn villages, which were later demolished to create a drinking-water reservoir. The story follows 15-year-old Mara and her widowed father, highlighting the generational conflict between the desire to leave and a deep attachment to ancestral land. Gonda, who first visited the Starina valley as a child, returned as a filmmaker and interviewed former residents, construction workers, and officials who had convinced people to sell their homes. These conversations reshaped his understanding of the region and its complex history. The protagonist, Mara, wants to leave the valley, while her father cannot imagine abandoning the land they have lived on for generations. This generational conflict became the central dramatic element of the film, shaped by extensive research and interviews with people who were 15 or 16 at the time of the evacuation. Many young people at the time were eager to move, while older residents felt a strong emotional connection to their homes, which had been rebuilt after the devastation of two world wars. Flood is considered a landmark in Rusyn-language cinema. Gonda emphasized that using the Rusyn language was essential, out of respect for the culture and people whose stories the film tells. The film is now Slovakia's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Gonda expressed excitement about the submission, hoping it would bring attention to the Rusyn language and culture across the Atlantic. The film's visual style and performances were developed with a focus on immediacy, using non-professional actors and staging that emphasized natural movements and reactions. Cinematographer Oliver Záhlava noted that the camera work was designed to stay close to the characters, avoiding forced or overly composed shots. The film has been warmly received by Rusyn audiences, sparking discussions about dialects and differing memories of the past. Gonda welcomed these conversations, considering them legitimate and valuable. Some former residents and their descendants said they finally felt seen and heard after screenings in eastern Slovakia and at a gathering in Ruské.