“WE WILL NOT FADE AWAY” WINS TOP AWARD!
The Children Film Association – ECFA – gave Alisa Kovalenko's film the award for Best Young Audience Documentary.
The Children Film Association – ECFA has been focusing on promoting and supporting film production for children and adolescents for over 30 years. Operating internationally, ECFA collaborates with filmmakers, producers, and film festivals with the aim of developing cinema dedicated to the youngest viewers. It organises events, conferences, and promotes high-quality children's films worldwide.
This year, We Will Not Fade Away by Alisa Kovalenko has been named Best Young Audience Documentary.
In the awarded film, we follow five Ukrainian teenagers growing up in small towns near a coalfield. Just like their peers around the world, they struggle with boredom and the many frustrations of finding their own identity and path in life. However, these five live in the war-torn Donbass. Not only has the region been economically devastated, but there is constant fighting in the distance – and sometimes quite close by. The youngsters are struggling with reality, trying to find their way in all this chaos through drawing, photography, music and, above all, friendship. They rebel, go on adventures, bravely venture into minefields and coal shafts; they play in ruined houses, trying to make the most of their last golden hours of childhood. As they dream of escaping, an unexpected invitation arrives. Would you like to visit Nepal and trek through the foothills of the Himalayas? - a famous Ukrainian traveller asks them. Suddenly, there's light in the darkness. They train intensely to realise this seemingly impossible dream, recording their efforts in video diaries. As the situation in their homeland deteriorates, the threat of a full-scale Russian invasion looms. Will the hopes and dreams of these young people survive?
The complete list of awarded films is available here.