Experiencing Interruptions?

Dreaming in the Shadows

About the Film: Dreaming in the Shadows is a 15-minute documentary film made by the independent Ukrainian director Marina Chankova. The film features three older people in Ukraine who have been displaced by or are still living in areas directly impacted by the war. Older people make up one-fourth of Ukraine’s population, and more older people are impacted by the war in Ukraine than in any other conflict in the world. Millions of these older people also have disabilities, and 80% of them live below the poverty line, making it very difficult for them to rebuild their lives since Russia’s invasion. The film shows how these people all try to hold onto their dignity and independence in the midst of brutal war, and highlights the dreams and hopes they have for the future.

  • Marina Chankova
    Director
  • Marina Chankova
    Producer
  • Anton Pechatnov
    Camera
  • Andrii Blahodyr
    Video Editor
  • Laura Mills
    Commisioning Editors
  • Nicola Peckett
    Commisioning Editors
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Web / New Media
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 1, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    17,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    Ukraine
  • Language:
    Russian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, 35mm, Sony
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • GESPRÄCH UND FILMVORFÜHRUNG „DREAMING IN THE SHADOWS“ DIE FOLGEN DES RUSSISCHEN ANGRIFFSKRIEGS FÜR ÄLTERE MENSCHEN IN DER UKRAINE
    BERLIN
    Germany
    December 14, 2023
Director Biography - Marina Chankova

Marina Chankova is an independent Ukrainian filmmaker with 15 years of journalism experience in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Marina, who was living in Italy at the time, returned home to Ukraine to make documentaries about the horrific consequences of the war. Her debut documentary "Mother Ukraine" (September 2022) about a woman and her military husband who live in war and are expecting twins, co-produced with Voice of America, won a silver statuette in the Human Rights category at the New York Film Festivals. In February 2023, Marina released her second documentary for Voice of America, “Here to Help” about foreign humanitarian volunteers in Ukraine during the war.
Her latest project deeply influenced her as a person. Together with representatives of Amnesty International, Marina traveled across Ukraine visiting institutions for people with disabilities and older people, documenting their experiences of war. The result of this journey is the 15-minute documentary “Dreaming in the Shadows”, which tells the stories of three older people in Ukraine who have been displaced or are still living in areas affected by the war.
Marina speaks five languages and has degrees in journalism from Ukraine (Taras Shevchenko State University), Italy (Milan State University), and the UK (Loughborough University). She graduated from the State University of Milan with special honors.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

What are you dreaming about today?
And now imagine that bombs have been dropped on you, you have been thrown out of your homes, and everything around you has been destroyed and killed...
What would your dreams look like now?
Of course, the only thing that everyone dreams of is that this nightmare ends as soon as possible. But what about your personal dreams? Do they even exist anymore, and what have they become now? What can these dreams teach other people?
With the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, I felt the urge to explore how the dreams of people living through the most difficult experiences of war are transformed.
When I received an invitation from Amnesty International to join the process of creating a report on the impact of war on the most vulnerable social group - older people with disabilities, I realised that this was my opportunity to turn the idea of a film about dreams into reality.
In the process of working on the Amnesty International report, we interviewed 159 people, including 89 older people, most of whom had disabilities.
The three most profound stories became the basis for the film "Dreams in the Shadows".