Top 20 Audience Favourite
In 2019, teenagers from Donbas already understood they had to live quickly, in case catastrophe hit. Gunfire and bombs are the soundtrack of adolescence on the frontlines. Andriy, Ruslan, Ilya, Liza and Lera long for something else to happen, bristling against boredom, transgressing with cigarettes and writing moody poetry. So, when Valentyn, a world-class mountain climber, turns up with an offer to join a Himalayan expedition, escape becomes possible. In a place where live fire erupts at any time, dreaming of peace above the clouds seems almost realistic. Award-winning filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko began shooting a story of five unlikely teen climbers when her own life, and theirs, was completely altered in February 2022. Putting down her camera to join an army battalion, Kovalenko fought on two fronts: literal and cultural. Finishing the film after serving, Kovalenko renders a stunning portrait of youth confronting the unknown, in a place as fragile and ephemeral as adolescence itself. Myrocia Watamaniuk
This documentary includes challenging and/or triggering subject matter. Our Active Listeners are available if you’d like to speak with someone after viewing the film. All conversations with Active Listeners are confidential.