“WE WILL NOT FADE AWAY” AT THE BERLINALE
The Polish-Ukrainian-French co-production by Alisa Kovalenko will have its premiere during the Generation 14plus competition at this year's festival in Berlin.
Generation 14plus is a segment of the Berlin-based festival dedicated to feature-length and short productions aimed at younger viewers. The documentary by Alisa Kovalenko is one of the featured films this year.
In We Will Not Fade Away we follow five Ukrainian teenagers growing up in small towns near a coalfield. Like their peers around the world, they struggle with boredom and the many frustrations of finding their own identity and path in life. However, these five live in the Donbass, where there has been war for years. Not only has the region been economically devastated, but there is constant fighting in the distance – and sometimes quite close by. The youngsters are struggling with reality, trying to find their way in all this chaos through drawing, photography, music and, above all, friendship. They rebel, go on adventures, bravely venture into minefields and coal shafts; they play in ruined houses, trying to make the most of their last golden hours of childhood. As they dream of escaping, an unexpected invitation arrives. Would you like to visit Nepal and trek through the foothills of the Himalayas? - a famous Ukrainian traveller asks them. Suddenly, there's light in the darkness. They train intensely to realise this seemingly impossible dream, recording their efforts in video diaries. As the situation in their homeland deteriorates, the threat of a full-scale Russian invasion looms. Will the hopes and dreams of these young people survive?
You can follow the constantly updated list of films that have been shortlisted for this year's Berlinale here.