Private Project

The Donbass children

This is a movie about the Donbas war, first-person stories. You will hear the stories of so-called "ordinary people". These people suffered from irrational from a military point of view strikes on civilian targets. They are victims of someone's desire to wage war on their territory at all costs.

There are no author's comments in this movie and no censoring of the thoughts of the local people. This film was made especially for spectators in Europe, who do not know what is happening in Eastern Ukraine.

The purpose of the film is to arouse interest in the ongoing six-year armed conflict and to make people to start to think about the responsibility of each of us for peace in Europe.

Update from March 2022: The above was written in September 2019. Now the war is being waged throughout Ukraine and the fate of the people of Donbass is shared by many people in the country. But while the "democratic world" was aggressively indifferent to the lives of the people of Donbass, a wave of empathy has now broken out. Not bad, on the contrary, but there remains a bad taste of double standards. This large-scale war had to be stopped in its infancy, but apparently the interest in its expansion was too strong. We, the people who fought for peace during those eight years, have failed because our voices have been muffled. But we did what we could.

  • Lubomir Dankov
    Director
  • Zina Nacheva
    Film editor
  • Tanya Krylova
    Cinematographer
  • Lubomir Dankov
    Cinematographer
  • Nenko Milev
    Sound editor
  • Igor Ivanov
    Archival footage
  • Vladialav Berdychevskyi
    Archival footage
  • Ivan Kopyl
    Organizational assistance
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Дети Донбасса
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Television
  • Runtime:
    60 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 30, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    2,800 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Bulgaria
  • Country of Filming:
    Ukraine
  • Language:
    Russian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • American Golden Picture International Film Festival
    Jacksonville
    United States
    Best screenplay /monthly competition/
  • The American Film Award
    New York
    United States
    Documentary Award
  • 2nd Amazing Shorts and Movies! Film Festival
    Madrid
    Spain
    World premiere
    Best screenplay
  • Los Angeles Motion Picture Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Documentary - Best Film
  • Chhatrapati Shivaji International Film Festival
    Pune
    India
    Award for cinematography
  • United States Film Festival
    Southeastern
    United States
    BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY
  • Crown Wood International Film Festival
    Kolkata
    India
    BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM /monthly competition/
  • Couch Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    Best Cast
  • Zero Degree Film Contest
    Mohali, Punjab
    India
    Best Documentary Feature
  • Beyond Earth Film Festival
    Chennai
    India
    Jury's Special Mention
  • Independent Shorts Awards
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Bronze Award - Documentary Short /monthly competition/
  • Best Shorts Competition
    La Jolla
    United States
    Award of Merit - Documentary short
  • The Impact DOCS Awards
    La Jolla
    United States
    Award of Merit: Documentary Feature
  • Hollywood Hills Film Awards
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Best Documentary - 2nd place
  • Italian Film Days
    Nicosia
    Cyprus
    Best Documentary /monthly competition/
  • Diamond Film Awards

    Italy
    Best Documentary /monthly competition/
  • DOCfeed
    Eindhoven
    Netherlands
    February 15, 2020
    Netherlands premiere
    Screening
  • Hollywood Film Competition
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Best Documentary - Gold Award
  • Mindfield Film Festival - Albuquerque
    Albuquerque
    United States
    Best Documentary Feature: Diamond Award - bi-monthly season competition
  • Assurdo Film festival
    Milano
    Italy
    BEST DOCUMENTARY - monthly award
  • Open Window International Film Challenge
    Kolkata
    India
    Best Documentary
  • Glorious Movie Awards
    Salerno
    Italy
    Best documentary /monthly competition/
  • Starshine Film Festival

    Italy
    Best documentary /monthly competition/
  • Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema
    Idyllwild
    United States
    March 13, 2020
    USA premiere
    Indie Spirit Award
  • Eurovision Palermo Film Festival
    Palermo
    Italy
    April 9, 2020
    Online premiere
    Best War Documentary
  • LA Shorts Awards
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Best Documentary - Gold Award
  • Vegas Movie Awards
    Las Vegas
    United States
    Best documentary feature /monthly competition/
  • After Hour Film Festival

    United States
    Jury's Choice
  • Apulia Web Fest
    Bari
    Italy
    Special Award for Peace
  • Accolade Global Film Competition
    LA Jolla
    United States
    Award of Merit - documentary feature, direction
  • Horror Bowl Movie Awards
    Chandigarh
    India
    Best Documentary
  • Kyiv Film Festival
    Kiev
    Ukraine
    Best Bulgarian Feature
  • Manhattanhenge Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    Best Documentary
  • Austria International Film Festival
    Vienna
    Austria
    Best War film
  • 52 Weeks Film Festival
    Thousand Oaks
    United States
    Best International Documentary
  • Accord Cine Fest
    Adyar
    India
    Best Documentary Feature - Jury Choice /monthly competition/-
  • Docs Without Borders Film Festival
    Lewes, DE
    United States
    Exceptional Merit
  • Global Monthly Online Film Competition

    Best Documentary Feature, Best Editing Feature, Best Cinematography Feature /monthly competition/
  • Point Of View Indie Film Awards

    Best Documentary Feature
  • Awesome Film Festival
    Burbank
    United States
    Best Documentary
  • Wallachia Int'l Film Festival
    Bucharest
    Romania
    Best Screenplay - Featurette films lineup
  • Mindfield Film Festival - Los Angeles
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Best Documentary - Bronze Award
  • Goddess On The Throne Film Festival
    Prishtina
    Kosovo
    Documentary Film Festival Special Award
  • Cinema New York City
    New York
    United States
    Best Director
  • London Classic Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    November 10, 2020
    Best Documentary Feature
  • French Independent Film Festival
    Cannes
    France
    November 10, 2020
    Best Documentary Film
  • San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival
    San Francisko
    United States
    Excellent Documentary
  • Motion Picture Film Award

    Best Feature Film - Jury Award, Best Cinematographer
  • Best Director Award
    London
    United Kingdom
    Best Director Feature Documentary
  • German United Film Festival

    Germany
    Best Producer
  • Sydney International Film Festival
    Sydney
    Australia
    Best Documentary Feature
  • World Film Fair
    Santa Monica
    United States
    Best Documentary
  • Miami National Film Festival
    Miami
    United States
    Best Documentary Feature
  • International Film Festival of Andaman and Nicobar
    Andaman and Nicobar
    India
    Best Documentary Feature Film
  • Gold Star Movie Awards
    Newark, New Jersey
    United States
    Best Documentary Feature /monthly competition/
  • Spotlight Documentary Film Awards
    Atlanta
    United States
    Spotlight Silver Award
  • Continental Film Awards

    Best European Documentary Feature
  • Best Indie Film Award
    London
    United Kingdom
    Best Indie Feature Documentary - monthly competition
  • Best Documentary Award
    London
    United Kingdom
    Best War Documentary Feature - monthly competition
  • Around International Film Festival
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    Honorable mention
  • Golden Earth Film Award

    Best documentary - monthly competition
  • Sweden Film Awards
    Stockholm
    Sweden
    Best Documentary Feature - monthly competition
  • Only The Best Film Awards
    Miami
    United States
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Tokyo International Short Film Festival
    Tokyo
    Japan
    Honorable mention
  • Votkinsk International Film Festival
    Maykop
    Russian Federation
    Special prize of the jury
  • Nadym International Film Festival
    Maykop
    Russian Federation
    Best Documentary Film
  • International Motion Picture Festival of India
    Pondicherry
    India
    Best Documentary Feature - monthly competition
  • Indo French international film festival
    Pondicherry
    India
    Best Documentary Feature - monthly competition
  • Hodu International film festival
    Pondicherry
    India
    Best Documentary Feature - monthly competition
  • New York Tri-State International Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    Best Documentary Feature
  • HALO International Film Festival
    Saint-Petersburg
    Russian Federation
    Honorable Mention
  • New Wave Short Film Festival
    Munich
    Germany
    Honorable Mention
  • GLIFF - Golden Lemur
    Lisbon
    Portugal
    Honorable mention
  • Mount Fuji International Film Festival
    Sendai
    Japan
    Best Bulgarian Documentary Film
  • The Best Film Festival
    Barcelona
    Spain
    Best Television Feature
  • Eastern Europe Film Festival

    Romania
    Best Documentary
  • Indie Doc Pro
    Barcelona
    Spain
    Best Television Documentary
  • MGA - Moscow Gold Awards
    Moscow
    Russian Federation
    Best Documentary
  • Grass Root international film festival
    Puducherry
    India
    Best Documentary Feature Film
  • Down East Flick Fest
    Greenville
    United States
    November 20, 2021
    Documentary Feature Award
  • Quetzalcoatl Indigenous International Film Festival
    Oaxaca
    Mexico
    Human Rights Award
  • Masters of Cinema
    Moscow
    Russian Federation
    Best War Film
  • Fox International Film Festival
    Sankt Petersburg
    Russian Federation
    Honorable Mention - Feature Documentary
  • Shiny Sparkle Independent Online Film Festival
    Online Festival
    Slovakia
    Honorable mention
  • 8 & HalFilm Awards
    Rome
    Italy
    Best European Director - Feature Documentary
  • Madrid International Short Film Festival
    Madrid
    Spain
    Best Documentary Feature
  • Festival internacional Signos da Noite
    Lisbon
    Portugal
    Edward Snowden Award
  • Arrow International Film Festival
    Saint-Petersburg
    Russian Federation
    Best War Film
  • Star Film Fest Barcelona
    Barcelona
    Spain
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Little buddha indie film festival
    Kathmandu
    Nepal
    Special Jury Award
  • Golden Harvest Film Festival
    Tokyo
    Japan
    Best Feature Film / Best Documentary
  • Vip Fest Film Festival
    Barcelona
    Spain
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Hollywood Blvd. Film
    International Online Festival
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Golden Giraffe International Film Festival
    Nice
    France
    Best War Film
  • New York Independent Cinema Awards
    New York
    United States
    Best International Documentary Feature
  • Tulum World Environment Film Festival
    Tulum
    Mexico
    "Human Stories" Feature Film Jury's Award
  • Top Film Awards
    International Awards event
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Docuworld Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    Best International Feature Documentary
  • Lights Camera Action Film Festival
    Kodaikanal
    India
    Best Documentary Feature film
  • Cuckoo International Film Awards
    Thiruvannamalai
    India
    Best Documentary Feature Film
  • Amsterdam Freedom Independent IFF
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    Best short documentary
  • Venus Community Awards
    Istanbul
    Turkey
    The best of the year
  • TopShot International Film Festival
    Warszawa (Warsaw)
    Poland
    Best Feature Film
  • Golden Wheat Awards
    Istanbul
    Turkey
    Best Documentary
  • The Gladiator Film Festival
    Istanbul
    Turkey
    Best Documentary
  • Japan International Film Festival
    Tokyo
    Japan
    Feature Documentary Award
  • International Gold Awards
    New York
    United States
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Brussels International Film Festival
    Brussels
    Belgium
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Andromeda Film Festival
    Istanbul
    Turkey
    Best Documentary
  • Zagreb International Film Festival
    Zagreb
    Croatia
    Honorable Mention
  • Butterfly International Film Festival
    Marseille
    France
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Barcelona Indie Awards // BIAIF
    Barcelona
    Spain
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Tabriz Cinema Awards
    Tabriz
    Iran, Islamic Republic of
    Best Documentary
  • Vietnam International Film Awards
    Hanoi
    Viet Nam
    Runner-up - documentary feature
  • Indo Japan Independent Film Festival
    Osaka
    Japan
    Best Documentary Feature Film
  • Sun Film Fest
    Girona
    Spain
    Best Documentary
  • Liber Films International Festival
    Athina
    Greece
    Honorable mention
  • Karlovy Vary Indie Film & Art Festival
    Karlovy Vary
    Czech Republic
    Documentary award
  • Close Film Festival
    Tabriz
    Iran, Islamic Republic of
    Best Documentary
  • Canary International Film Festival
    Kuthalam
    India
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Star International Film Festival
    Firenze
    Italy
    Best Feature Documentary
  • 8 & HalFilm Awards
    Cannes
    France
    Best European First Time Director
  • Roshanl International Film Festival
    Aurangabad
    India
    Best Documentary Award 2-nd rank
  • International Film & Script Festival Lotus
    Athens
    Greece
    Best Feature Documentary
  • 14 days to eternity
    Barcelona
    Spain
    Best War Documentary
  • Golden Laurel Int. Film Festival
    Athina
    Greece
    Honorable mention
  • Purple Sky International Film Festival
    Hamburg
    Germany
    Honorable mention
  • Mars International Film Festival
    Marseille
    France
    Honorable mention
  • New Wave International Script & Film Festival
    Berlin
    Germany
    Honorable mention
  • Rising Sun Cinema Festival - Tokyo
    Tokyo
    Japan
    Best Feature Documentary
  • King Film Awards
    London
    United Kingdom
    Best Feature Documentary
  • 8 & Halfilm Awards
    Rome
    Italy
    Documentary Feature Award
  • White Apple Festival
    Almaty
    Kazakhstan
    Best Documentary
  • Frida Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    Best International Documentary
  • Green Ciak Film Awards

    South Africa
    Best Picture
  • 2 11 17 International Film Festival
    Chennai
    India
    Best Documentary Feature Film
  • New York International Cult Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    Honorable mention
  • Wild Filmmaker Festival
    Tokyo Edition
    Italy
    Best Social Documentary & Best Television Project
  • Russian Institute of Cinema and Performing Arts Awards
    Rostov-na-donu
    Russian Federation
    Outstanding Achievement Award
  • 8 & Halfilm Awards - Bergman - Fellini Awards
    Stockholm
    Sweden
    Best Human Rights Documentary Feature
  • Reels International Film Festival
    Aurangabad
    India
    Television Documentary Award
  • Beyond The Screen Festival
    Antwerp
    Belgium
    Honorable mention
  • Florence Film Awards
    Florence
    Italy
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Colossus Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    Best War Film
  • IF Indie Festival
    Cannes
    France
    Best Human Rights Documentary Feature
  • The Dreamers Film Festival
    Santa Barbara
    Italy
    Best Human Rights Documentary
  • Frida Film Festival
    Kopenhagen
    Denmark
    Best Human Rights Documentary
  • International Academy Arthouse Fest
    Istanbul
    Turkey
    Best Human rights Documentary Feature
Director Biography - Lubomir Dankov

The director is a Bulgarian amateur photographer. He has been developing an information project on the Donbass war since 2016. The Donbass children is his first film.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

When I first went to Donbass as an amateur journalist, I felt myself ashamed. Shame on the "fellow" journalists, who deliberately avoid the topic of Donbass, shame on the whole "democratic community" that has buried its head in the sand.

It is hard to believe that deliberate war crimes have been committed daily in the geographical centre of Europe six years already, but it’s a fact.

The worst thing is that all this can be quickly and easily stopped, but maintaining an armed conflict in the area is, for some people, a win-win business.

Darkness gives power to evil. Keep yourself informed. It is up to you much more than you think.