The film “Children in Fire” about Ukrainian children of war, which has already won 5 awards, will be screened in Ukraine for the first time

The Ukrainian gala premiere of the film “Children of Fire” by Ukrainian director Yevhen Afineievskyi, a semi-animated, semi-documentary film about the fates of Ukrainian children who survived, and are still going through, the war, and which has already received five international awards, will take place on Thursday as part of the 16th Odesa International Film Festival at the Zhovten cinema in Kyiv.

At the press conference at the agency “Interfax-Ukraine” on Thursday the film’s creators, Afineievskyi and producer Halyna Sadomtseva-Nabaranchuk, said that the film is about eight children who became victims of Russian attacks and were subjected to deportation, injury and imprisonment.

“The film is about eight young Ukrainians who witnessed the horrors of war at an early age. About their dreams, which were destroyed by the aggression of the Russian regime… The film shows not only their suffering, but also the strength of spirit and unbreakable faith in the future that they retain even after what they have been through. This is not a diary of horrors, but rather a tribute to the human spirit of children. The resilience, strength and ability of Ukrainian children to overcome these tragedies and losses make each story a great inspiration for everyone,” the press release says.

The film had its world premiere on June 20 at the 33rd Raindance Film Festival, where the jury immediately honored it with a special mention. At the 64th Monte-Carlo Television Festival, the film received a special jury award and a special AMADE prize for supporting the organization's core mission: protecting the most vulnerable children from violence, exploitation and abuse.

The film has already received more than five different awards. It was also screened in the Directors' Fortnight program of the Cannes Film Festival and before the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The press conference was also attended by Anna Machukh, executive director of the Ukrainian Film Academy and general director of Odesa Intern, and Nobel Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk.