After fighting in the Donbas, Bogdan, a young Ukrainian, visits his mother in Germany. Here, he finds unexpected opportunities: university, a new job, an old new love. He would love to stay. But he struggles with German bureaucracy and his trauma of war. So will he return to his comrades at the front?
This film is set against the backdrop of the war against the Ukrainian population of the Donbas, initiated by Russia in 2014. Reality has brutally overtaken this setting.
Right now, straight after completing work on this film, our Ukrainian actors and parts of our team are fighting against Russian troops in Kyiv, fighting for their freedom, their future, and their very survival.
In 2014, the people of Ukraine opted for Europe. To this day, they pay for this with a simmering war in the Donbas and the threat of a Russian invasion. Around 14,000 people have already lost their lives in the process. After their frontline service, veterans find it hard to return to everyday normality. Even more so, if, like Bogdan, they find themselves confronted with the intact world in Germany, where the war, only about 2000 km to the East, has hardly registered in people’s minds. Like so many other migrants, Bogdan is mercilessly confronted with the reality of German bureaucracy and continues to be influenced by his wartime trauma. The film addresses these problems now confronting a whole generation of Europeans and those want to become Europeans, in a dramatic, sad, thrilling, emotional and humorous manner.
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Short 30 min, UHD, 25fps, DCP
Rainer Ludwigs
Tetyana Chernyavska
Rainer Ludwigs Image-Building
Andre Feldhaus, Rainer Ludwigs
Dramedy
Summer 2021 Germany, Lower Saxony / Bremen, Fall 2021 Ukraine, Kyiv Region
German, Ukrainian, German or English Subtitles
Petro Stashenko, Anna Zhara, Liudmyla Vasylieva, Christoph Linder, Martin Skoda, Natalie Shtefunyk, Björn Becker, Yurij Nazaruk, Oleksander Solodkyi
Festivals & Awards
13.03.2022 Premiere Hannover Kino am Raschplatz.
Only The Best Film Awards, MIAMI, FLORIDA. April 2022. Only The BEST WAR SHORT AWARD.
Filmfest Bremen, April 2022
16th edition of Montreal Independent Film Festival, Canada. April 2022. BEST NARRATIVE SHORT Award.
Bucharest ShortCut CineFest, București, Romania. April 2022 NOMINEE BEST ACTOR for Christoph Linder.
19. Festival International de Cine de Alicante, Spain. 21-28 Mai 2022. Oficial Selection.
Eastern Europe Film Festival, Romania, September 2022. WINNER BEST SHORT FILM.
Chithiram International Film Festival, India. September 2022. WINNER BEST ACTOR for Petro Stashenko.
Onyko Films Award, Odesa, Ukraine. August 2022. WINNER BEST DRAMA SHORT.
1st montly Filmfestivalm Season 2, August 2022. Best War Film.
Kamianets-Podilskyi International Film Festival BRUKIVKA, Ukraine. Septemner 2022. Official Selection.
Reels International Film Festival 2022, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. September 2022. Official Selection.
Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival, Greece. September 2022. SPECIAL MENTION.
Tokyo International montly Film Festival, Japan. September 2022. BEST SHORT FILM.
GOLDEN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Italy. GOLDEN DRAMA SHORT, Official Selection.
Ukrainian Dream Film Festival, Ukriane. September 2022. Official Selection.
3rd Indian International Short Film Festival Awards, India. Official Selection.
Global Independent Film Festival of India 2022. India. November 2022. Official Selection.
Veterans Film Festival, Sydney, Australia. 3-6 November 2022. Official Selection.
Golden Bridge İstanbul Short Film Festival, Turkey. November 2022. Official Selection.
Dispatches of War, Kyiv. Ukriane. November 2022. Official Selection.