10/02/2023 - Alisa Kovalenko’s fourth documentary feature zooms in on five Ukrainian teenagers who dream of escaping from the war but also from the boredom of their small town

Donbas, 2019. The prospect of a new Russian invasion hangs in the air, while the sound of gunfire resulting from the old one can still be heard in the distance. In this seemingly bleak wartime setting, five teenagers start to seriously think about their future. Their energy, enthusiasm and hope allow them to fully live out their last golden hours of childhood despite the circumstances. The members of this imaginative band of dreamers paint, take photographs, or fantasise about acting careers or becoming the next Elon Musk. They rebel, ride on the waves of adventure, walk into minefields and sunbathe by a local lake. They dream of escaping not only from the war, but also from the boredom of a small town. Then, unexpectedly, an opportunity arises to embark on a long journey all the way to Nepal. Will their dream of conquering the world come true?

This is the premise of Alisa Kovalenko’s fourth documentary feature, We Will Not Fade Away [+see also:
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We Will Not Fade Away is being produced by Valery Kalmykov, Oleksiy Kobelev and Yana Kalmykova for Trueman Production (Ukraine), in co-production with Katarzyna Kuczyńska and Tomasz Morawski for HAKA Films (Poland) and Stéphane Siohan for East Roads Films (France). Telewizja Polska SA, ARTE GEIE – La Lucarne and Current Time TV are co-producing. It was backed and co-financed by the Ukrainian State Film Agency, the Polish Film Institute and the IDFA Bertha Fund.

Check out our exclusive trailer below: