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 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], set to world-premiere in the Generation 14plus strand of this year’s Berlinale (16-26 February). Speaking about her film, she told Cineuropa: “During these three years, while we were making We Will Not Fade Away, so many things happened. Every single one of them changed the story, me, our characters, and ultimately the meaning and feeling of our film. Back in July last year, after four months on the frontline, I returned to Kyiv to meet Stéphane Siohan, who co-produced the movie. Stéphane pointed out the relevance of this project we’ve been working on for three years – not only for us, but for our characters and for Ukraine. This is our cultural front. This film was supposed to be about dreams fulfilled; now, it is about dreams being shattered. But even with all this, there is a lot of light and tenderness in it. It's about that world of childhood when everything seems possible, even in the darkest places – when you believe in dreams no matter what.”

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: