Author:
Mariia Kucova
The online cinema platform, Takflix, has released a summer-themed short film collection titled "Lituvaty" (Summering). This collection includes films that touch on themes of childhood, summer, and war. Takflix donates 10% of every ticket sold to the Charitable Foundation "Voices of Children".
For us, summer is not just a calendar phenomenon. It is an existential state characterized by the lightness of being. It originates from childhood, to which we as adults return every summer. Our new collection is a way to grieve how war prevents summer from being fully experienced, to extend it a little longer, and to start a new countdown to the next cherry season,
noted the "Takflix" team.
noted the "Takflix" team.
The collection contains five films by contemporary Ukrainian male and female film directors.
"Under the Endless Sky" is a short animated film by Oleksandra Dzhyhanska about summer holidays at her grandparents' in Odesa region. The film director delves into the preservation of her memories and their special importance.
"Forest, Forest" — a video diary of a Ukrainian family spanning 2002 to 2008, compiled by Mariia Stoianova into a touching short film. Through the lens of her father's camera, we see twin sisters Anna-Mariia, Vika, and their older sister Nataliia, celebrating birthdays, holding home concerts, splashing in puddles, and living their childhood to the fullest. At one point, Nataliia even appears on TV — on the children's "Piznaiko" program.
"New Home" is a documentary by Bohdan Prykhodko about the changes brought by the war. On the outskirts of Kyiv, in a center for IDPs (internally displaced persons), families from the Luhansk region are beginning to set up a new home. Children catch mice, play ball, and occasionally unpack standardized gifts from foreign partners. The adults hold on to memories and hope to return home one day. Meanwhile, the house continues to fill with new neighbors.
"Waking Up in Silence" — a short film by Mila Zhluktenko and Daniel Asadi Faezi about families who were forced to move to Germany due to the full-scale invasion [of Ukraine]. The camp for displaced persons is a former Wehrmacht military barracks. In this new reality, children try to remain children, despite missing their fathers and familiar neighborhoods. The film received a special award for the best short film in the "Generation Kplus" program at the "Berlin International Film Festival".
"Dad's Sneakers" is a feature film by Olha Zhurba about the last hours of 13-year-old Sashko in an orphanage for children, deprived of parental care. He has been adopted and is now about to leave for another country with his new family. But there is something that does not let him go. The world premiere took place at the "Locarno Film Festival". The film received the "Golden Dzyga" and the "Odesa International Film Festival" awards.
The films are available worldwide with English subtitles.
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