GRANTEE
This film is a deeply personal, transformative journey for Estonian director Ilmar Raag, narrated by his Ukrainian colleague Olga Gibelinda. With his own experience in Estonia’s Defense League and a family history marked by Soviet occupation, Raag travels to Kherson as a volunteer to witness what modern occupation truly means. The birth of his son becomes a powerful trigger: a fragile new life that heightens his responsibility for the world we are building for the next generation. The film is shaped by testimonies of Kherson residents who have remained in the city: Svitlana, a florist and teacher who was pressured by the occupation authorities; Viktoria, who has survived filtration, threats, and the destruction of her home; and Ihor, a civilian who was abducted, tortured, and then subjected to a staged execution. Through their stories we see both the machinery of repression and the quiet acts of resistance—preserving language, dignity, memory, and the courage to remain oneself in the face of fear.