"School #3" is the history of thirteen schoolchildren from Nikolaevka, Slavyansk district who witnessed military operations in their native city, the portal "Arthousetraffic" reports.
In the summer of 2014 Nikolaevka, a small town near Slavyansk in the Donetsk region, witnessed and participated in hostilities. Residents for a few days hid in the basement to survive the continuous bombing.
Several shells fell into school number 3, and she immediately ceased to be a school, turning into one of the ruins. The arrival of the volunteers saved the school from closing, it was rebuilt and on September 1 the pupils again sat down at their desks. However, it was more difficult to restore the condition of children who found themselves in the epicenter of battles.
In the tape, teenagers from the school that was rebuilt after the war talk about their dreams and fears.
The world premiere of the film took place in the framework of the 67th Berlin Film Festival, where "School #3" was awarded the Grand Prix in the Generation 14plus section, devoted to films about children and for children. Together with the award, the film's authors received 7,500 euros.
The film is based on the documentary play "My Nikolaevka" by playwright Natalya Vorozhbit, embodied on the stage by the "Theatre of Displaced People". Elizabeth Smith and Georg Zheno were directors of the film.