Projects 2023

Pencil of the Dreadful Reality

Mariia Shevchenko
The author and her colleague are documenting the harsh reality of war from the frontline city of Kharkiv. She sees the war for the first time. Humanitarian aid vehicles navigate the city. Volunteers respond to the needs of people living in basements. The bravest ones go almost to the front line to deliver food to those who won’t survive without their help. Doctors, public services, and residents turned to volunteering to liberate their land. Maria asks herself if she sees war for what it is. Does she want to see the actual consequences of this war? Maria wants to know the reality of war, even if it is unbearable.

Mariia Shevchenko

Mariia Shevchenko is a journalist and a documentary film director. She graduated from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Journalism. Her debut film Birthmark presented in 2020 was the best short film at the Bastau IFF in 2021 and the best student doc at the Pärnu IFF in 2022. In 2022 the documentary series Winners by Maria Shevchenko was broadcasted on all regional TV channels of SUSPILNE. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Maria documents the stories of soldiers, volunteers and civilians.

General sponsor

Ukraine

Working title:
Pencil of the Dreadful Reality

Directed by:
Mariia Shevchenko

Start of production:
06.2022.

Estimated date of finalisation:
07.2024.