We Will Not Fade Away
My ne zgasnemo
International Forum
Open Eyes – Educational Programme
COUNTRIES: Ukraine, France, Poland YEAR: 2023 RUNTIME: 100 min
DIRECTED BY: Alisa Kovalenko
LANGUAGE(S): Ukrainian, Russian, English
SUBTITLES: German, English
SCRIPT: Alisa Kovalenko
PRODUCED BY: Valery Kalmykov, Yana Kalmykov, Oleksiy Kobelev
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Alisa Kovalenko, Stefan Serhiy Stetsenko
EDITED BY: Maryna Maykovska, Kasia Boniecka
SCORE: Wojciech Frycz
SCREENINGS
SYNOPSIS
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 – like teenagers all over the world – 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?
Alisa Kovalenko
Alisa Kovalenko, born 1987, is a Ukrainian award-winning documentary director from Kyiv. She was grew up in Zaporizhia, South-Eastern Ukraine and studied documentary cinema at the Karpenko-Kary National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television in Kyiv and at the Andrzej-Wajda School in Warsaw, in the Dok Pro programme. Alisa’s debut feature-length documentary ALISA IN WARLAND, a personal diary through revolution and war in Ukraine, had its world premiere in the First Appearance competition at IDFA 2015.
After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she joined a volunteer fighting unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU), directly engaged on the front line in the Kyiv and the Kharkiv region. She fought in the trenches for four months before returning to finish WE WILL NOT FADE AWAY, which had its world premiere at the Berlinale 2023.
Sister Zo (2014), Alisa in Warland (2015), Home Games (2018), We Will Not Fade Away (2023)
PRODUCTION: Trueman Production, East Roads Films (stephane@east-roads.com), HAKA Films
WORLD SALES: Stranger Film Sales (hello@strangerfilmssales.com)