In Ukraine’s post-war future, Roman, a struggling film director, dreams of making movies once again. He is residing in Kyiv with his 18-year-old son, while his beloved wife and young daughter remain in Vienna, the city they fled to at the beginning of Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion.

Much to Roman’s mounting chagrin and despite a newly elected populist government – and the fact that he’s unwilling to leave the country he fought for – his family doesn’t plan on returning to their homeland due to the poor economic and political landscapes. These, regardless of liberation and ongoing pushes from citizens, are slow to reform. As he prepares a new film with his trusted producer Volodymyr Yatsenko (the real film’s producer), his close friend Vlad may be a melancholy mirror into his own future: he has already lost his family to the allure of the West. Meanwhile, his ailing father, possessing a demeanour sourced from all that he has survived, provides a different outlook on life.

A pacifist community with unique religious beliefs, living in a picturesque river canyon in western Ukraine, is seeing their peaceful way of life gradually eroded. This closed religious community, located on the banks of the Dniester River, lives by its own strict rules, cut off from the outside world. For example, they do not use electricity or modern medicine, they do not marry outside the community, they do not join the army, and they do not take up arms.

The community's attempts to distance themselves from the outside world are often disrupted by the annual floods that take everything in their path and change the landscape of the rural shores.  

As an even more devastating “flood” approaches Ukraine, the war with Russia leaves the community with no choice but to unite and ignore their beliefs, and the villagers gradually begin to go against their own rules, joining with the outside world to help in the fight against the enemy.

A feature-length sequel based on the TV series Kyiv Day and Night (2016–2019).

The film explores how our favourite characters have changed, how they are growing up, and the challenges they face today, whilst retaining their trademark energy and sincerity.

The film is based on real events that formed the basis of one of the most high-profile operations carried out by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, code-named ‘Sinitsa’.

Andriy, an operative with the Main Intelligence Directorate, is preparing for a special operation that will be the mission of his life. As well as striking a blow against the enemy, he seeks revenge for the death of the woman he loved. However, Andriy cannot do this alone. He is assisted by operative Yana, who is tasked with recruiting the Russian pilot Maksym. The Russian will be faced with a choice: to switch to the side of good or to remain with those who shed the blood of innocent people!

On the eve of St Nicholas’s Day, in a cosy Carpathian hotel, St Nicholas and his helpers are getting ready to grant the children’s wishes. But suddenly they find a letter that had been lost and had lain unread for over 30 years. It was written by a boy called Borya from a children’s home, whose wish never came true. The boy has grown up and stopped believing in miracles, and as his faith fades, so too does St Nicholas’s magical power. They must set things right before the festival.

Now the helpers must find Boris as an adult — the very same boy. But he bears no resemblance whatsoever to the child who wrote the letter: he is a cynical and wealthy investor who believes in neither love nor family. Following a chance accident, Boris begins to see a nine-year-old boy by his side — himself as a child. And before St Nicholas’s Day arrives, he must fulfil his childhood dream, otherwise he will lose the ability to feel joy forever, and St Nicholas will lose his magical powers.

Since launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian leaders have imposed methods for undermining Ukraine’s future by targeting its children. Russian troops are regularly accused of abducting minors, then forcing them into adoptions or captivity so they can be re-educated as Russian patriots.

Children In The Fire is the collective war diary of resilient Ukrainians who witnessed the worst of humanity, yet remain motivated young athletes, performers and public servants. Through live-action footage and Ukrainian artists’ animation, the documentary joins eight kids on international journeys to pursue their goals. Each child embodies the promise of their homeland and the potential of a nonviolent world.