Synopsis
Protagonists: Kira (10), Taisa (14), and Artem (15)
Supporting characters: 47 children who have been kept in the same institutions (5-17); parents Kira, Taisa, and Artem with the assistance of Ukrainian contemporary artists, paint memory maps about the time they spent in the Russian "summer camps". What seems at first like cheerful summer activities and a thrilling time without parents shifts to evoking memories of propaganda events, mental torment, punishments, isolation, stays in psychiatric clinics, and military training.
The live-action footage (60%) and revealed memories, portrayed through hand-drawn animations (40%) follow Kira’s, Artem, and Taisa’s stories, as they occur: - Kira, Artem, and Taisa’s homes are occupied during the first week of the war, and “Russia is Here Forever” billboards appear on their streets; - The Russian military visits Taisa's grandma and threatens her with guns to convince her to send Taisa to Russian camp; - While Artem's father spends 30 days in captivity, Artem is kidnapped by Russian soldiers; - Kira, Taisa, and other 200 children arrive at the summer camp, where, among fun activities, they also have to repeatedly sing the Russian Anthem and write “explanatory notes” if they fail to remember words; - Artem ends up in a ‘correction school’ where he has to work to receive food or a bed; - Kira and her friend Nikita are put in a mental hospital for not obeying; -The children begin to believe in misinformation and the rightfulness of the “new order”; - Artem has to choose between military training in a Russian military uniform and sitting in the basement; - Kira and Taya have being told that their parents don’t want them back; - A group of children decides to escape. After 6 months of deportation Artem, Taisa, and Kira are finally home with their parents, but their stories aren’t over. The children continue trying to re-find safe spaces where they can understand who they are.
The live-action footage (60%) and revealed memories, portrayed through hand-drawn animations (40%) follow Kira’s, Artem, and Taisa’s stories, as they occur: - Kira, Artem, and Taisa’s homes are occupied during the first week of the war, and “Russia is Here Forever” billboards appear on their streets; - The Russian military visits Taisa's grandma and threatens her with guns to convince her to send Taisa to Russian camp; - While Artem's father spends 30 days in captivity, Artem is kidnapped by Russian soldiers; - Kira, Taisa, and other 200 children arrive at the summer camp, where, among fun activities, they also have to repeatedly sing the Russian Anthem and write “explanatory notes” if they fail to remember words; - Artem ends up in a ‘correction school’ where he has to work to receive food or a bed; - Kira and her friend Nikita are put in a mental hospital for not obeying; -The children begin to believe in misinformation and the rightfulness of the “new order”; - Artem has to choose between military training in a Russian military uniform and sitting in the basement; - Kira and Taya have being told that their parents don’t want them back; - A group of children decides to escape. After 6 months of deportation Artem, Taisa, and Kira are finally home with their parents, but their stories aren’t over. The children continue trying to re-find safe spaces where they can understand who they are.
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