Russia’s war against Ukraine is the most documented conflict in human history. A crucial part of this chronicle is the testimonies of Ukrainian children — children who endure shelling, separation and loss, life in shelters, occupation, and deportation. Their childhoods are marked by constant danger, anxiety, and uncertainty. These stories reveal one of the most heartbreaking sides of the war and show how, in such circumstances, a whole generation is maturing.

The film Generation by Marysia Nikitiuk and the Voices of Children Foundation is an attempt to view today’s world through the eyes of the most vulnerable — and to give them the strength to speak about their harrowing experiences in their own words. The director created the film in collaboration with fourteen teenagers who had lived through evacuation, forced relocation to other regions of Ukraine and abroad, the loss of social ties, the struggle to find a sense of belonging in new places, life under Russian occupation, and near the frontline. They worked with a psychologist in the "Storytelling in Film with Elements of Art Therapy" lab for five months. They learned scriptwriting with Marysia, trying to process and express their experiences through storytelling.

We invite you to watch this experimental, therapeutic film and join a conversation about eleven years of childhood in wartime, the role of art in creating a space where children can remain children even in the darkest times, and what we, as a society, can and must do to help them cope with these experiences.

Speakers:
Olena Rozvadovska, co-founder and Chair of the Board of the Voices of Children Foundation
Marysia Nikitiuk, screenwriter and director
Children featured in the film Generation

Moderator: Olha Birzul, journalist, editor, cultural manager, film programme developer and curator, writer.

Organisers: NGO Docudays, Voices of Children Charitable Foundation