Ukraine continues to be an inspiration for global filmmakers as the documentary “A Distant Barking of Dogs” received an award at a prestigious international film festival.
The documentary is about 10-year- old Oleg, a boy who lives together with his grandmother amid shelling caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The film was financed by Denmark, Sweden and Finland, and directed by Danish filmmaker Simon Lereng Wilmont. The documentary received an award of 10,000 euros for the Best First Appearance at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam is the world’s largest documentary film festival and is held in Amsterdam annually since 1988.
Azad Sazarov, Wilmont’s Ukrainian assistant, rejoiced as he finds out about the news.
“Yes! A documentary about Ukraine received an award at its first big documentary festival,” Sazarov wrote on his Facebook on Nov. 22.
The documentary, filmed during 2015-2017, shows one year of Oleg’s life. The boy lives in Donetsk Oblast’s Hnutove village, located 740 kilometers from the country’s capital and just five kilometers from the frontline.
After Oleg’s mother died, he is left with his grandmother. For more than three years of war, they keep on living in Hnutove being continuously surrounded by shelling.
At school, Oleg learns how to quickly run to a bomb shelter as well as detect landmines.
He tries to enjoy the life of a child with his cousin but the sounds of shelling often disturb their time together.
“By sticking close to Oleg, “The Distant Barking of Dogs” shows the effect that the (Donbas) conflict has on children,” the IDFA wrote on its website.
Trailer to the documentary “The Distant Barking of Dogs.”
Oleg’s story is that of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children living in Ukraine’s war zone.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, about 1 million Ukrainian children need humanitarian assistance due to the Russian-instigated war in eastern Ukraine.
Some 200,000 children are also in need of urgent psychological support because of traumas caused by the war.
In March, the documentary “School Number 3,” which is about teenagers living in Donetsk Oblast during Russia’s war against Ukraine, received an award at the 67th Berlinale Film Festival.
