27/01/2025 - The film, which will premiere in the Berlinale Forum, will offer an unflinching yet poetic glimpse into the rhythms of life in a city navigating daily routines in the shadow of war

Ukrainian-born filmmaker Vitaly Mansky has long chronicled the sociopolitical complexities of modern Russia and Ukraine through his documentaries, including Gorbachev. Heaven [+see also:
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film profile]. The latter, co-directed with Yevhen Titarenko, combined raw frontline footage from the “Hospitallers” volunteer medical battalion with intimate scenes of home leave, offering a stark portrayal of the war’s toll on soldiers and civilians alike. Mansky’s interest in the weight of military conflict continued with Iron, a 39-minute film which premiered at the 2024 Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival, comprising of interconnected vignettes shot across Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and Russia. The work examined the presence of military equipment in urban landscapes, reflecting on its role as a marker of war, power, and national identity, while considering how societies contend with the enduring spectres of conflict.

Mansky’s latest documentary, Time to the Target, will have its world premiere in the Forum section of the upcoming Berlinale Film Festival. Filmed over a year and a half in his hometown of Lviv, the work explores the rhythms of life in a city geographically removed from the frontlines but still affected by the war. The title refers to the time it takes for Russian missiles to strike Ukrainian cities (5,4 minute in the case of Lviv). The documentary portrays a community dealing with weddings, childbirth, schooling, and mourning against a backdrop of air raid sirens and missile strikes.

Spanning three hours, the film centres on a military brass band whose members have been forced to adapt their roles to meet the demands of war. Viktor, the band’s conductor, manages both leadership duties and efforts to maintain morale. Oleg, a retired trumpeter, has re-enlisted while tending to his farm. Roman, previously a wedding musician, now performs at military funerals, and Nestor, a classically trained pianist, has taken on the role of drummer. Beyond the band, Mansky introduces viewers to a cross-section of Lviv’s wartime reality: gravediggers overwhelmed by the number of burials, a street performer singing amidst the city’s ruins, and families grieving the loss of soldiers.

Adhering to his usual observational style, Mansky forgoes scripted interviews and directorial intervention, allowing the camera to capture unfiltered moments of daily life. Yet the central character of the film is also Lviv itself. Situated in western Ukraine, the city’s history as part of Austria-Hungary and Poland lends a backdrop to its current wartime context. Returning to his hometown (Lviv has featured in his previous works, such as Private Chronicles. Monologue, Our Homeland, and Close Relations [+see also:
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Since 2013, Mansky has worked closely with Czech production company Hypermarket Film, whose past collaborations include the director's previous works Pipeline, Under the Sun [+see also:
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film profile]. Speaking about the new film, Czech co-producer Filip Remunda said: “For Vitaly Mansky, Lviv is not just his hometown but a source of strength and inspiration. Throughout his career, he has returned to this city to document its transformations. Now, during one of the most dramatic chapters in Ukraine’s modern history, he captures the raw reality of a criminal war threatening the country’s very existence”.

Time to the Target is being produced by Vertov (Latvia) and co-produced by Hypermarket Film (Czech Republic), Jan Barta (Czech Republic), Braha Production Company (Ukraine) and Czech Television. The film was supported by the Czech Audiovisual Fund, the National Film Centre Latvia, UPP Prague and the Ukrainian State Film Agency.