Place of Peace

A musical documentary about the life of Ukrainian refugees in Germany in 2022.
The film consists of 6 performances that were filmed in the most famous places in Berlin. Through music and using metaphorical symbols, the stories of performances are connected with the stories of documentaries, Ukrainians, who tell the stories of their salvation, moving to a foreign country and trying to start a new life. The heroes of the performances were members of the Viltze folklore ensemble (Ukraine, Kyiv). The main musical theme of the film - is a Ukrainian folk song, The German composer of Georgian origin Omari Mshvenieradze created jazz variations on the main theme, which are heard during performances. The art concept of the film was developed by Ukrainian artist Alina Kashitsina.

  • Antonina Gotfrid
    Director
    "Ne Sam Podoroznhi" (2021, TV movie),"Ruthenia" (2020, Documentary),"Ahenty spravedlyvosti" (2016, TV Series), "Dobrovoltsi" (2015, TV Modie)
  • Antonina Gotfrid
    Producer
  • Cynthia Buchheim
    Producer
    "Two pairs of shoes" (short film), "State of the Union" (short Film)
  • Felix Rauch
    Producer
  • Mariia Bielkova
    Key Cast
    "performer"
  • Nadiia Khanis
    Key Cast
    "performer"
  • Tetiana Chukhno
    Key Cast
    "performer"
  • Darka Symchych
    Key Cast
    "performer"
  • Natalia Tashova
    Protagonists (interviewed persons)
  • Anastasia Volokita
    Protagonists (interviewed persons)
  • Valerii Melovanov
    Protagonists (interviewed persons)
  • Valentina Melovanov
    Protagonists (interviewed persons)
  • Elvira Sverydiuk
    Protagonists (interviewed persons)
  • Serg Hahamidi
    DOP
  • Omari Mshvenieradze
    Composer & Sound producer
  • Ksenia Kazimirova
    Set designer
  • Alina Kashchytsina
    Art concept
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental
  • Runtime:
    26 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 1, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Ukraine
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany, Ukraine
  • Language:
    Ukrainian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Antonina Gotfrid

Antonina Gotfrid graduated from the Kyiv National Theatre, Cinema and Television University named after I. K. Karpenko-Karyi (specialisation: Film, Theatre and Television).
Since 2000 she has been working with various Ukrainian television channels and productions. As a director, she has made more than 10 documentaries in cooperation with ICTV channel. The film «Volunteers» (2015), for example, was held in the out-of-competition international program of the film festival «Molodist».
Antonina staged her first theatre production, dedicated to the life of Ukrainian opera singer Vasily Slipak, in Paris (2019). In 2020, she shot the first film as an independent director: «Ruthenia: Return of the Nations Code», which tells about the history and meaning of Ukrainian symbols, writing, alphabet and calligraphy. Her second theatre production, the play «Not Themselves /Fellow Travelers», premiered in Kyiv (March 2021).
In February 2022, Antonina completed work on the second auteur film «War(m) Faces», which tells about the experiences of Ukrainian soldiers with PTSD. She has been living in Germany since March 2022. In May 2022, «Ruthenia» was shown at the Filmmuseum Düsseldorf. With the support of the Düsseldorf Theater Museum, Antonina also led a theatre group for Ukrainian youth in the summer of 2022. She also held a theatre workshop for scholarship holders of the Cusanuswerk e.V. in Münster, as well as led a film camp for German and Ukrainian youth in cooperation with BUNT – Stiftung Bildung und integrative Arbeit gGmbH.

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Director Statement

Antonina would like to address the issue of personality destruction due to traumatic events in her artistic practice. In the research she aspires to deal with such questions: how does war affect people’s perception of reality? How much time does a person need to restore their emotions, restore personal boundaries, to feel safe? When is a person allowed to call their new place of residence «home»?
In her last work «War(m) Faces» Antonina has already started to explore the effects of war on mental health. Now she wants to broaden the topic and shift the focus from soldiers to civilian society. In doing so, Antonia would also like to include the issues that affect refugees.