Timestamp: First Ukrainian film to be included in Berlinale main competition in last 25 years
Pravda Ukraine
A film by a Ukrainian director has been selected for the main competition at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) for the first time in 25 years. This year, it is Kateryna Gornostai’s film Timestamp.
Source: Gornostai’s team in an interview with UP.Kultura
This documentary feature is competing for the Golden Bear, Berlinale’s highest prize. The film tells the story of teachers and students who continue their education during the war, some of them in liberated and frontline areas.
Timestamp has no voiceover, interviews, or re-enactments. Instead, it reveals how the war in Ukraine affects everyday life, showcasing the challenges of living in constant danger.
Quote: “We focused on the everyday moments and simple school experiences, like tears during the first bell ceremony, a senior playing Saint Nicholas, and the colorful ribbons in the hands of graduates. All of this, of course, is set against the backdrop of war. Students often study in shelters due to air raids, the principal shows the damaged and sealed-off parts of the school while lessons continue in another wing, and an online graduation is marked by a bell taken out of Bakhmut. The war has permeated everyday life, but all we can do is continue living and learning,” said Kateryna Gornostai.
The funds raised from the international screenings of the film will be donated to the reconstruction of schools destroyed by the war.
The film was created by the same team that collaborated with Kateryna Gornostai on her debut feature, Stop-Zemlia. This team includes cinematographer Oleksandr Roshchyn, editor Nikоn Romachenko, sound designer Mykhailo Zakutskyi, producers Olha Brehman (Beskhmelnytsina) and Nataliia Libet, and producer Viktor Shevchenko.
Stop-Zemlia was also featured at the Berlinale, where it won the Crystal Bear from the Generation 14+ Youth Jury in 2021.
The executive producer of Timestamp is the Osvitoria public organization, with 2Brave Productions serving as the film’s producer. The film also boasts co-producers François Le Gall and Marion Guth from a_BAHN (Luxembourg), Rinskje Raap from RINKEL DOCS (Amsterdam, Netherlands), and Viktor Ede from CINEPHAGE PRODUCTIONS (Marseille, France).
The last Ukrainian director to participate in the main competition at the Berlinale was Kira Muratova, with her film Three Stories in 1997.
The 75th edition of the Berlinale will take place on 13-23 February, with director Todd Haynes serving as the president of the main competition jury this year.
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