documentary project
This observational documentary, consisting of a couple of parts, describes different angles of the Russo-Ukrainian war. The detection of violence and military actions anthropologically allows us to observe the real consequences of war for the environment, people, and all living things. Four film directors work in their own directions, united by visual, artistic, and narrative approaches. Alina Gorlova, one of the directors, followed the judicial process against the Russian soldiers who murdered and committed various pre-planned acts of violence. Alina aims to create a collective portrait of an enemy, in contrast to the consequences of this war. It is important for us to explore the nature of human violence. Therefore, we try to follow the personal stories of Ukrainians who faced uncontrolled hatred. We want to find a way to capture the reasons for these actions that lie beyond human understanding.
The crew documented mass graves and burials of about 1,000 civilians. Relatives come to the cemetery trying to find their loved ones. The bodies of those killed by the occupiers became evidence of war crimes, objects of the struggle of those who survived and were ready to honor their loved ones, thus building a collective memory and history. The dramaturgy of the upcoming film is built around the concept that war fades physically but lives on in people's memories. We track several cities and areas destroyed by the war. Capture them immediately after military action, then return after some time and watch them change. We see how spaces recently occupied by war struggle to slowly return to some kind of peaceful life.
Buildings that looked terrifying a few months ago have become a routine sight. Sometimes you can see how quickly nature captures this rubble and incinerated equipment. This story is about the passage of time and the will of life that conquers war and death. However, while the physical effects of war change or disappear quickly, they remain in human memory for much longer.
PROJECT TEAM
ALINA GORLOVA, scriptwriter
Alina Gorlova is a director of documentary and feature films, editor, and producer. She was born and lives in Ukraine. Alina got her bachelor’s degree in Karpenko-Kary National University of Theatre, Film, and TV. She films documentaries and features, social ads, and music videos. In 2016, Alina presented her first documentary film, Kholodny Yar. Intro, at the Odesa IFF and Artdocfest. Her next film, No Obvious Signs, received four awards at Docudays UA and the Best Eastern European Film award at DOK Leipzig. It was also nominated for Best Documentary by the Ukrainian Film Academy. Her latest film, This Rain Will Never Stop, was funded by the Ukrainian State Film Agency, IDFA Bertha Fund, Doha Film Institute, and the National Film Centre of Latvia. The film premiered at IDFA and won the main award in its section. It also received the Grand Prix at Go East, Las Palmas, and Festival dei Popoli.
MAKSYM NAKONECHNYI, producer
Maksym holds a bachelor's degree in directing. Together with a group of like-minded people, he founded the production company Tabor, which produces documentary and fiction films. Tabor's output includes international and national works (School # 3 won the Generation14Plus Grand Prix at the Berlinale 67; No Obvious Signs won 4 awards at the DocuDays UA 2018 international competition and the prize of the German TV channel MDR DokLeipzig 2018).
Tabor's films were distributed in European cinemas and broadcast on European and Ukrainian TV channels.
Maksym's debut as a producer is the documentary film This Rain Will Never Stop. It premiered in 2020 at the important documentary film festival in Amsterdam, IDFA, where it won the main prize in the First Appearance competition section. Since then, the film has been screened at more than 60 festivals and won 11 awards. As a director, Maksym has made several short films, and his debut feature film, Butterfly Vision, was selected for the Un Certain Regard competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022.