“Director Kateryna Gornostay told about the meaning she put into the film.”, — write: www.unian.ua
Director Kateryna Gornostay told about the meaning she put into the film.
“Time Tape” is the first Ukrainian film since 1997 to enter the main competition/ photo press serviceThe film “Time Tape” by Ukrainian director Kateryna Gornostay about Ukrainian schools during the full-scale war was included in the main competition program of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, which will be held from February 13 to 23, 2025. The full-length documentary film will compete for the main prize – the “Golden Bear”.“Timeline” is a documentary film about teachers and students who continue to teach and study during military operations, in particular in the de-occupied and front-line territories. Filmed without voice-overs, interviews and reconstructions, the film offers a deep look at the struggle of the Ukrainian people for the preservation of education, for their existence and identity. It shows how the war in Ukraine affects the daily lives of students and teachers, and the challenges associated with trying to preserve education and a sense of normalcy in conditions of constant danger.
Gornostai, who acted as the director and screenwriter of the film, spoke about the film. She showed how Ukrainian children are educated during the full-scale invasion. In particular, how they learn in shelters, partially destroyed schools, as well as online learning, which arose due to the threat of shelling.
The “time tape” is an element of the tourniquet: it is important to record the time of application of the hemostatic device so as not to lose exsanguinated tissues. Now every schoolchild, unfortunately, knows what a turnstile is and what it is used for, because now it is also studied at school. We focused our attention on mundane and simple school experiences, such as tears at the first bell, a high school student in the role of St. Nicholas, colorful ribbons in the hands of graduates. All of this, of course, contains the context of war now: schoolchildren often study in shelters due to anxiety, the principal shows a destroyed and preserved part of the school, while classes are held in another wing, and the bell evacuees from Bakhmut rings on the online graduation. The war entered this everyday life very deeply, but there is nothing left for us, except to continue to live and learn,” Gornostay said.
Kateryna Gornostay / photo press serviceThe idea of a film about education during the war was proposed by the public union “OSVITORIA”, which acted as executive producer. The film was produced by 2BRAVE PRODUCTIONS.
“While creating this film, we understood that we were appealing to universal, generally understood values. School and education is something that is important for every person in the world. And Kateryna knows how to find a unique approach – how to reflect this deeply and subtly on the big screen. The war changed life Ukrainian educators. It seems that we were able to catch this marker of time, this tape,” said Olga Bregman and Nataliya Libet, co-founders 2BRAVE PRODUCTIONS and the producers of the film.
This is the second full-length film by Kateryna Gornostay at the Berlinale. Her feature debut, Stop-Earth, won the Crystal Bear of the Youth Jury of the Generation 14+ Berlinale in 2021.
“Timeline” is a unique chronicle of a year from the life of Ukrainian schools, students and teachers from different regions of the country. From Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia to Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Ochakov, Kamianskyi, as well as towns and villages such as Bucha, Borodyanka, Zarichne.
One of the heroes of the film, Borys Khovryak, worked as a teacher during the filming, and today he is defending Ukraine in the ranks of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, like many other teachers who defended the Motherland.
The picture was shot with private funds without the involvement of state funding. According to the idea of the team that worked on the film, the picture is not only a chronicle of training during the war. This is a story about the power of a nation, embodied in concrete human faces, and a tool of cultural diplomacy.
“We want to remind the world that the war in Ukraine continues, and its children and teachers pay an excessive price for the opportunity to enjoy a basic human right – the right to education. This film should be a means of drawing attention to our struggle. I believe in its powerful potential to evoke empathy and become a platform for dialogue in creative, academic, human rights and political circles,” added Zoya Lytvyn, founder of OSVITORIA and executive producer of the film.
The purpose of the picture is to draw attention to education in Ukraine during the war, as well as to raise funds for the reconstruction of schools destroyed by the war. They will make it possible to repair and equip schools so that the educational process continues despite the war.
By the way, “Strichka chasmo” is the first film by a Ukrainian director since 1997 to enter the main competition – the last time it was Kira Muratova’s film “Three Stories”. The anniversary 75th Berlinale will be held from February 13 to 23, and the head of the jury of the main competition this year will be director Todd Gaines.
We will remind, previously the film about the war in Ukraine with Oleksandr Rudynsky was nominated for the BAFTA film award. “Rock, Scissors, Paper” will compete for the win in the “Best British Short Film” category.
You may also be interested in news:
- In the USA, the estate from the movie “Home Alone” was sold: what was the value of the house
- The creepy folk-horror “The Damned” will be shown in Ukraine, which has already been highly praised by critics
- Rotten Tomatoes has named the best movies of 2024