Ukraine’s Kateryna Gornostai Finds Hope in Berlinale Doc ‘Timestamp’: ‘This Generation Needs to Live’

variety.com:

Marta Balaga Ukrainian filmmaker Kateryna Gornostai makes a case for optimism with the Berlinale doc “Timestamp.” “It’s a sad film, but there’s a lot of hope in these kids and in our education system that still works.

It was crucial to make a film about war, but war is not in the frame,” she told Variety. Bowing in Berlinale’s main competition, “Timestamp” follows Ukrainian students and teachers, trying to maintain normalcy despite constant danger and the world’s waning interest in their plight. “We were afraid of [Donald] Trump winning the [U.S.] presidential seat again.

But you know, the worst has already happened: we lost our people and our families. At this point, we’re a bit fatalistic. So now … We just observe,” she said. “Sometimes, when you meet a Ukrainian, they can overwhelm you.

Our experience is stressful for others, and maybe so are our films. People are tired of ‘dealing’ with our problems and that might be why our films become less visible at festivals.” Her “invincible” protagonists are not giving up, however, heading to school even when it moves underground. “When we heard about Kharkiv’s metro schools, we immediately went there.