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Children Of Ukraine

Sponsored Project

  • Giancarlo Bianchi, Director/Producer
  • Rodrigo Couvert, Director/Producer
A wide, panoramic film poster featuring a young person's face in a close-up, central position. The person has light-colored hair that appears windblown and a serious, direct gaze. The background consists of desaturated, out-of-focus ruins of buildings, suggesting a scene of significant destruction. Across the bottom of the image, the title "CHILDREN OF UKRAINE" is displayed in large, bold capital letters. The words "CHILDREN OF" are in dark blue, and the word "UKRAINE" is in a bright yellow. To the far lef

About the Project

In the wake of the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukrainian authorities discover a chilling pattern: more than 19,546 children have not just disappeared but vanished into a systematic web of state-sponsored abduction. This is not the accidental displacement of conflict, but a calculated campaign to transport the most vulnerable to re-education camps where their Ukrainian identity is targeted for erasure.

Children of Ukraine follows the high-stakes rescue missions coordinated by Mykola Kuleba and the tireless advocacy of officials like Daria Herasymchuk as they race against time to bring these stolen voices home. To document a crime that occurs in territories where cameras are forbidden, the film employs a hybrid visual language of intimate verité testimonials and hand-drawn animation.

These animated sequences serve a critical dual purpose by reconstructing the inaccessible corridors of deportation trains and re-education centers while protecting the fragile dignity of the survivors. Each frame acts as both a cinematic journey and an evidentiary record designed to meet the rigorous standards of the International Criminal Court. By exploring the existential question of how global attention can wane while atrocities unfold in real time, the film captures a profound portrait of resilience that refuses to let these stolen childhoods become mere statistics.