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Flowers for hope

Flowers for Hope is an authentic and humane documentary that shows the situation of Ukraine during the war in spring 2023.
The documentary follows the journey of photographers Christian Pirskanen [FIN] and Jennifer Janowski [GER] giving the viewer the opportunity to get to know everyday life in the midst of war.

Even though air raids disrupt everyday life, people still try to live as normal life as possible.The interviewees openly talk about their own experiences, what goes on inside the head
when you pull the trigger for the first time or how it feels to flee a war, leaving everything behind.

Flowers for hope is about survival, hope and the power of people in the midst of difficulties.

  • Christian Henrik Johannes Pirskanen
    Director
  • Christian Henrik Johannes Pirskanen
    Writer
  • Jenniffer Isabella Janowski
    Writer
  • Christian Henrik Johannes Pirskanen
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Drama, Documentary
  • Runtime:
    29 minutes 18 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    700 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Finland
  • Country of Filming:
    Ukraine
  • Language:
    English, Ukrainian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Christian Henrik Johannes Pirskanen

Christian Pirskanen, a Finnish photographer, film-maker and dedicated documentarist, who captures cultures, portraits and landscapes worldwide. Christian studied his
bachelor at the university of applied science in Lahti, Finland and a semester at the Moholy Nagy University, Budapest.
2024 Christian started his master in Visual Journalism at Tampere University.
Christian ́s motivation is combining art and humanitarian topics
and that's the base for him to work and create stories.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In spring 2023, media coverage was dominated by images of destruction and despair, with some major outlets even retracting stories once the truth emerged about inaccurate reports. Yet, I saw little about the daily lives of ordinary people—stories unconnected to missile attacks or casualties. I began to wonder: how are they truly managing in such a situation?

I felt compelled to help somehow, beyond simply donating. So, together with Jennifer Janowski, I decided to travel there. Our goal was to meet locals, listen to their stories, and share their voices through interviews. With her help, I created an authentic documentary capturing the experiences we witnessed and the insights we gained.