Ukrainian and Russian films were shown at the Belgrade Film Festival

Life for high school student Tonya is not easy. Pursued by an aggressive ex-boyfriend, the girl is forced to transfer to a new school, where she finds herself in a rather desperate company. At first, everything goes well: the girl makes new friends and has an affair with her classmate “Zhurik”. However, Tonya’s old problems catch up with her in her new place. In addition to the continuation of attacks from an aggressive stalker, a complex love triangle arises in her life with her best friend’s brother Sasha, threatening the loss of her closest people...

Photo: Ksenia Kirillova

Fighting dictators, circumstances and yourself

This is the plot of the 2023 Ukrainian film “Forever and Forever,” previously shown at the Venice Film Festival. The action takes place in the late 90s, in old apartments with carpets and posters on the walls and in the troubled streets of a residential area of ​​​​Kyiv. Teenagers here not only hang out and fall in love, but are also capable of brutally bullying each other, stalking and beating girls, and generally doing some pretty scary things for the most innocent of reasons.

In early November, Serbian viewers were also able to see the film. It was shown in Belgrade as part of the Free Zone Film Festival. Some of the films shown at the festival - both fiction and documentaries - were literally dedicated to the struggle for freedom and exposing the horrors of totalitarianism. Thus, the Romanian film “Freedom” was dedicated to the overthrow of dictator Ceausescu, and the film by the Russian director Vitaly Mansky “Putin’s Witnesses,” on the contrary, shows the step-by-step formation and development of the current Russian regime.

However, many films presented at the festival are not political in nature. However, all of them are in one way or another dedicated to the formation and development of personality in difficult conditions. Thus, the film “Fighters” by the Norwegian director John Hawkland tells the story of a boy from a dysfunctional family and a social worker who became his true friend and protector. Having himself had a troubled childhood, the social worker continued to take care of the teenager despite the machinations of vengeful police officers.

On the subject: Five Hollywood films that failed at the American box office, but became hits in the USSR

Survival Lessons

A teacher deceived by scammers, children abandoned by their mother to the mercy of fate, an Iranian girl caught in the whirlwind of the Islamic revolution or Ukrainian schoolchildren from the “dashing 90s” - all these people suffer equally, search for themselves and try to withstand difficult circumstances as in “prosperous” Norway or France, and in countries torn apart by wars and poverty.

«This is a film about a time when you had to survive. And yet, even then we tried to be happy and enjoy life“, says the director of the film “Forever and Forever” Anna Buryachkova. According to her, in the 90s it was really difficult to survive alone, and parents, more often than not, could not pay attention to their children, caring primarily about getting a livelihood. However, the director is confident that if such trials did not break you in childhood, they will certainly make you stronger in adulthood.

«It was representatives of this generation who became the main freedom fighters in our country"She notes.

Photo: Ksenia Kirillova

Future heroes

According to Anna Buryachkova, filming began even before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But at the same time, the director has no doubt: if her heroes existed in reality, most of them would not remain aloof from today's war.

«I am sure that Sanya would be on the front line now, he would become a volunteer at Zhurik"She suggests.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read all this on ForumDaily New Y

Anna Buryachkova notes that for all her ambiguity, the main character of the film, Tonya, also achieves a small victory by the end - she has learned to resist violence from men and ceases to be afraid of it.

«Even if in adolescence these children do not show themselves as fully positive heroes, I think that in adulthood they would be capable of becoming one“, summed up the director.

Read also on ForumDaily:

The strangest foreign objects that doctors in the USA removed from the bodies of patients

Treasures from the attic: how much you can earn by selling old gadgets

Like in a science-fiction movie: 6 futuristic cities being built in different countries

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.