VISION

AUDIO

OPENER

TITLE CARD: DATELINE

WHITE SCREEN:

A YOUNG BOY’S voice, narrates over the white screen.

SMASH CUT TO:

OLEKSII: IV: It takes a missile one minute to fly to Kharkiv, from Belgorod.

DRONE – KHARKIV

We fly into to the frame of an abandoned APARTMENT BUILDING, that’s been BOMBED.

ANGLE ON: The frightened face of 14-year-old, BOY

OLEKSII: IV This one minute may just end my life.

EXT. KHARKIV – DAY.

A northern hemisphere winter.

All the leaves are brown… the sky is grey… and distracted TEENAGERS mope through the snow and the frame.

VO: To a teenager, every day can feel like life and death.

VO: But if you’re in Ukraine, it literally is.

ANGLE ON: The uncertain face of a YOUNG SOLDIER.

ARTEM: IV: At present I live, but only from day to day.

ANGLE ON: A determined GIRL.

ALEVTINA: IV: I have also realised that within a minute it could all be gone. That really hurts.

QUICK CUTS: Kharkiv and our cast of kids.

VO: These are the stories of three young Ukrainians growing up in a war zone.

ANGLE ON: A distraught MOTHER.

MOTHER: IV: Everything stopped in everyone’s life. Childhood has also ended… Childhood has ended.

TEEN LOVE & WAR

by Ben, Colin and Josh

DRONE: KHARKIV.

TEXT ON SCREEN: KHARKIV

VO: In the north-east, not far from the Russian border, is Kharkiv…

VO: Before the war, it was home to nearly one and a half million people.

EXT. KHARKIV STREETS – DAY.

Rapid collection of shots shows CITIZENS, MUSEUMS, LIFE going on in the winter.

We now see teenagers going about their days. Nothing special… just life.

VO: Considered one of Ukraine’s cultural hubs, thousands of the city’s teenagers have grown up imagining a future in the arts… but things have changed.

INT. THEATRE – DAY.

We find a gangly, TEENAGE KID, sitting alone in the FOYER of the theatre. He plays with a SLINKY and stares at his PHONE.

CUT TO:

OLEKSII: IV: I’ve been here from the Day One of the war. And I won’t be able to explain how it feels, because you have to live through it.

OLEKSII: IV: I can say that there is a poem by Lesya Ukrainka and there is a line in it "I laughed despite my tears". And so I try to live according to this quote.

BLACK TEXT ON WHITE: OLEKSII, 16

INT. THEATRE – STAGE - DAY.

Several ADULTS block out and rehearse a PLAY on the theatres small STAGE.

Watching them is 16-year-old OLEKSII OZEROV.

UPSOT: Theatre chatter.

VO: It’s fair to say that Oleksii Oz-er-ov’s whole life is the stage.

CONT’D.

VO: His parents are actors who often perform at this small, theatre in downtown, Kharkiv.

INT. THEATRE – LATER

OLEKSII – walks the theatre’s many HALLS. He is ALWAYS CARRYING a SLINKY.

OLENA: THOUGHT TRACK: We call him a cosmic boy. He’s always been a bit of a dreamer. His teacher once stopped me in the corridor to say “Thank you for your son, he is our soul.” Those are her words.

CONT’D.

OLEKSII and his SLINKY keep on cruising.

VO: Oleksii used to dream of following his parents into acting… but then the Russians came.

FILE FOOTAGE:

KHARKIV under heavy shelling. UKRANIAN soldiers fighting back.

UPSOT: Shelling! Bombs explode!

OLEKSII: THOUGHT TRACK: It all started with incoming missiles at 4 a.m. and continued till night-time. It is a rite of sorts. I was unable to sleep again after all those explosions.

VO: Kharkiv was attacked on the first day of the invasion… February 24 ^th last year.

CONT’D.

UPSOT: Shelling! Bombs explode!

VO: Russian forces failed to take the city, but missiles still hit Kharkiv and the surrounding regions.

INT. THEATRE – DAY.

OLEKSII leads BEN on a tour through the theatre.

VO: When the war began, Oleksii’s family fled their apartment and hunkered down in the theatre.

VO: They’ve lived there ever since, alongside other families.

CONT’D.

OLENA: IV: We didn’t have a bomb-proof shelter here but we have like a cellar where we can hide. And that is how more families came here with their loved ones. There were many people but we could accommodate everyone.

INT. THEATRE – BUNK ROOM – DAY.

OLEKSII walks Ben int

OLEKSII: UPSOT: This is the kids bunker. We used to sleep on this bed here, our whole family now other people are sleeping here.

INT. THEATRE – KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS.

BEN & OLEKSSI arrive in a cramped, windowless space. It used to be a storeroom but is now the KITCHEN.

There are BIRTHDAY DECORATIONS everywhere. Most feature MARVEL SUPERHEROES.

OLEKSII: UPSOT: This is the kitchen. I've recently turned 16, and that's why we still have decorations hanging here.

BEN: UPSOT: I see all the Avenger's stuff here.What's your favourite Marvel movie out of all of them?

OLEKSII: UPSOT: It is probably Iron Man III.

BEN: UPSOT: Iron Man III, Robert Downey. Yeah, you are like young Robert... You are like Robert Downey Junior Junior...

OLEKSII: UPSOT: Yes. And Doctor Strange.

INT. THEATRE – DAY.

OLEKSII picks up a FRISBEE, throws on a WINTER COAT, and heads outside.

OLEKSII: IV: I try to be merry and so forth, so the things are not that scary and sad.

EXT. KHARKIV – DAY.

We see PEOPLE of VARIOUS AGES going about their business in the snow-lined streets.

VO: A year since the Russian retreat, life in Kharkiv is slowly getting back to normal.

VO: Stores are trading… homes are being rebuilt… and for those in the theatre it’s a special time.

EXT/INT. THEATRE – DAY

FAMILIES, young and old, file into the theatre. They take their seats, and the curtain rises.

OLEKSII: IV: The theatre is reopening. A new performance, a new play. Art is still alive. Regardless of the war.

VO: For more than a year, the stage sat empty… but today, the show goes on.

INT. THEATRE – CONTINOUS.

A PUPPET SHOW begins, and all manner of insanity is unleashed! It’s not the sort of serious theatre we’re expecting but the crowd laps it up.

UPSOT: Winter! Winter! Winter!

VO: The play, an old children’s fable, brings some much-needed cheer…

UPSOT: PERFORMERS: Glory to Ukraine.

INT. THEATRE – CONTINUOUS

We’re CLOSE UP on OLEKSII. He looks TROUBLED.

VO: But not for Oleksii

OLEKSII: IV: The fact that the theatre is reopening tends to scare me on occasion. Because... what if these scum of the earth find about it and decide to send a missile here?

IV: OLEKSII

BEN interviews OLEKSII. The young boy plays OBSESSIVELY with his SLINKY.

BEN: IV: You see other kids your age out and about around the city going back to normal life. But you haven’t. Why?

OLEKSSI: They say there is going to be an offensive and I am scared.

CONT’D.

But with his freedom, there;s something Olekssii doesn’t want to do.

BEN: IV What does that do to you, being scared all the time feeling nervous all the time?

OLEKSII: IV I do not get used to it. Recently there’s been a hit near my school, it’s not far away from here... and the University got destroyed. Every time it happens it becomes more frightening.

CONT’D.

BEN: IV: I notice you carry the slinky. Does that make you feel more comfortable, more calm?

OLEKSII: IV: You see, because of all of this, I have to clasp something in my hands - it’s either wringing my hands or playing with this slinky to keep my hands busy somehow.

EXT. KHARKIV STREETS – DAY

TEENAGERS carrying a sadness beyond their years, pass through frame.

VO: UNICEF estimates that one and a half million Ukrainian children are now at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions…

VO: It’s feared that with their parents distracted by the war, many cases will go undiagnosed.

IV: OLEKSII’S MUM

OLEKSII’S MUM realises her son may be suffering.

BEN: IV: When we were talking with and following Oleksii around, he did say that he is often scared. Are you concerend that perhaps he has been traumatised by everything that’s happened.

OLENA: IV: I am curious myself. He’s told you about his feelings. He does not show it to me because he’s been keeping it deep inside that it was a bit hidden from me. I’m curious myself.

INT. THEATRE – BUNK ROOM - NIGHT.

OLEKSII, in his PJs, sits on a BUNK. He’s still playing with his SLINKY…

BEN: IV Do you ever imagine or think that you are somewhere else, wish that you were somewhere else?

OLEKSII: IV That happens very often, and it may be that I actually float into the future. I have an apartment of my own, I work here, at this doll theatre, and after a performance I come home, to have a good night’s sleep in my room in my own bed, without any explosions or sirens, to wake up and do nothing. Not to think of being... of being hit by a missile. To forget about Russia and lead a normal life.

ALVETINA: Bombs and Best Friends

DRONE – KHARKIV OUTSKIRTS.

We fly over the city… it’s dark despite the dawn.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY.

A teenage GIRL, older than Oleksii, sketches in her small ROOM. Sitting at an EASEL, she’s outlining a PAINTING. Her pencil strokes begin to form a lifelike, human, EYE.

ALEVTINA: THOUGHT TRACK: I have been drawing since I was a child. It distracts me from my, from obsessive thoughts, and I’m doing what I like, creating something beautiful.

BLACK TEXT ON WHITE: ALEVTINA, 18

EXT. KHARKIV STREETS - DAY

ALEVTINA walks the snowy streets of her neighbourhood. She passes old, EASTERN BLOC APARTMENTS ravaged by bombs and artillery fire.

DAD (OFF SCREEN): Alya, what kind of tea would you like?

INT. KITCHEN – DAY

ALEVTINA makes a tea with her dad.

DAD: Anything without milk right?

VO: Fine Arts student Alevtina Koko-rey-va lives with her Dad in an apartment in the outer city.

DAD: I’m tired of this life. Fed up already. No end on the horizon

VO: During the first months of the invasion, their neighbourhood was practically the frontline, and you can see the scars.

EXT. KHARKIV STREETS - DAY

ALEVTINA walks the snowy streets of her neighbourhood. She passes old, EASTERN BLOC APARTMENTS ravaged by bombs and artillery fire.

ALEVTINA: IV: They killed many people. They’ve destroyed cities and they keep destroying them.

ALEVTINA: IV: I am very interested in the art of restoration and unfortunately it will be very relevant long after the war is over.

EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING – DAY.

BEN carrying a GIFT HAMPER greets ALEVTINA on the steps of her apartment building.

VO: Alevtina, like her city, is a survivor and today is a big milestone.

BEN: UPSOT Happy Birthday! We got you something *hugs* ALEVTINA: UPSOT: Thank you.

INT. APARTMENT BULDING – CONTINUOUS.

BEN and ALEVTINA ascend the long, depressing staircase to her APARMENT.

ALEVTINA: [THOUGH TRACK] Today is my birthday. I’m turning 18..

BEN: UPSOT: It’s too cold out here. Too cold!

INT. ALEVTINA’S ROOM – DAY.

BEN and ALVETINA settle in her small room and start to chat.

ALEVTINA: IV: But there are more important things, that’s what I’ve understood since the war… beginning of the war. And I’ve also realized that it can all disappear in a minute. It really hurts.

VO: Most teenagers would be looking forward to turning 18.

VO: But for Alevtina, one terrible day last year, broke everything.

IV: ALEVTINA

ALEVTINA: IV: That day started quietly enough. Well, there was no shelling in the morning. My mom put on a jacket, went out and the shelling began. A missile hit the store near our house. It was very loud. Everyone could hear that. And my mother ran towards the entrance door, she opened the door, but did not have time to get in. A shell flew into the house, and she was killed by a fragment of the house, which hit her head. We believed that an ambulance would come at that time, and it would be possible to save her somehow. But, it was probably an instant death. I hope it wasn't painful for her. That's all.

*BEAT – fighting back tears*

ALEVTINA: IV That was it, it was literally a moment. If only she had got in, she would have survived.

INT. APARTMENT – LOUNGE ROOM – LATER

A man’s HAND holds a picture of a 40’ something WOMAN who’s all dolled up. The picture is trembling. It’s being held by Alevtina’s father, SERHII

ALEVTINA: IV:

VO: Olena Kokoreva was just 46 when she was killed on the front steps of her home.

SERHII: IV My wife was one of the best people I knew in my life. Not one of the best, but the best.

VO: She is one of the 8000 civilian causalities recorded during the war.

VO: The actual number is thought to be much higher.

IV: ALEVTINA.

** MAKE SURE BEN DOESN’T DISSAPPEAR **

BEN: IV: How do you feel about Russia.

ALEVTINA: IV: I hate them all. Obviously. After all they have done. Well, there is a specific person who did it. I don't know how to treat them in any other way.

INT. APARTMENT – LOUNGE ROOM – LATER

An unsettled SERHII talks about his daughter’s trauma. Whether he fights back tears of sadness, rage or both is difficult to tell.

BEN: IV: Over the last year, and since the death of her mother, how has Alevtina changed?

SERHII: IV: She grew up in one day. She was a child, she was a child on March 15th, and on March 16th, after lunch, she became an adult. She lives, she understands what life is and what death is.

SERHII: IV: This was a very difficult year, but the only thing I can say is that if it wasn't for Alevtina, I don't know how I would have survived. If it wasn't for Alevtina, I probably wouldn't have gone through everything the way I did. That’s why we survived this great grief, because we are together.

INT. KITCHEN – LATER

ALVETINA and her FATHER boil a KETTLE then sit down to TEA & BISCUITS.

VO: Tonight, Alevtina and her father will mark her birthday with a simple dinner at home… just the two of them.

SOT: Drinking Tea

VO: Their tragedy is difficult to escape… But there are those who want to help them try.

INT. ESCAPE ROOM – DAY.

A BLINDFOLDED ALEVTINA and her friend VIKA are led into a kitchy room. The small space is a riff on 221b Baker Street, the residence of one SHERLOCK HOLMES.

HOST: UPSOT: Ok, team, all of you are Moriarty followers. While working on his latest assignment, you were outsmarted and caught by Sherlock. He left you here alone but promised to come back exactly in one hour. If you don’t want it to happen, I advise you to get out of here ASAP. The time has started.

ALEVTINA: UPSOT: I knew it. ** Laughter**

CONT’D.

ALEVTINA and VIKA flail about trying to find a key for the handcuffs.

VO: Alevtina’s best friend Vika, is treating her to a girl’s day out….at an escape room

CONT’D.

Finding the key, ALEVTINA is freed and the pair set out to try and escape the room.

ALEVTINA: UPSOT: Here. I’ve found it! Hurrah! Thank you.

CONT’D.

VIKA: IV: That was to support Ayla and I also wanted to spend this first birthday together.

CONT’D.

VIKA punches a keycode into a panel by the door and it opens. They’ve won.

ALEVTINA: UPSOT: We’ve got out on time! They didn’t kill us. I am in shock. Let’s go.

CONT’D.

VIKA: IV: Support is important at this time and I support her.

INT. RESTAURANT – LATER.

ALEVTINA is smiling east to west as a WAITRESS brings over a small, birthday cake.

After being regaled with the Ukrainian version of Happy Birthday, she blows out her candles.

WAITRESS & VIKA: UPSOT Happy birthday! Happy birthday, happy birthday. Make a wish, close your eyes.

ALEVTINA: UPSOT To be honest, we all have one wish. Thank you.

VIKA: UPSOT Hooray!

CONT’D.

ALEVTINA unwraps her present, an ARTBOOK. She’s stoked.

ALEVTINA: UPSOT My God! I’ve wanted it! Wow!

CONT’D.

ALEVTINA: THOUGHT TRACK I am very grateful… We help each other.

CONT’D.

The pair shares a warm HUG.

ALEVTINA: UPSOT: Thank you!

EXT. KHARKIV STREETS – LATER

The GIRLS walk arm in arm. They pass destroyed buildings, and skip through barricaded streets, giggling in a display of almost normalcy.

ALEVTINA: IV: I think it’s very important because it helps us to deal with this trauma and cope with these horrible events.

EXT. PARK – DAY.

The GIRLS arrive in a park. They laugh, friends in the snow – here, for now, there are no signs of the war.

ALEVTINA: IV The most important thing is life, your life, life of your loved ones, your freedom. That’s what’s become clear to me One needs to enjoy what they have, rather than have dreams and worry’s about what they don’t have or hasn’t happened. After my mum died, it’s important for me.

ARTEM: MY, BLOODY VALENTINE

EXT. KHARKIV STREETS – DUSK

Night falls across the city. We arrive at…

VO: As night falls… Across town, a family is celebrating...

INT. SMALL HOUSE – NIGHT

About 30 people cram into a small house. A YOUNG MAN (wearing a green army JUMPER enters and is warmly welcomed into a family gathering/party.

ARTEM: UPSOT Hi!
MAN: UPSOT: Hi, hi!

VO: A Russian Family.

INT. SMALL HOUSE – NIGHT

The group all raise glasses and CHEERS!

FAMILY: UPSOT: Glory to the heroes!

CONT’D

We settle on the young man, in the army jumper. This is ARTEM.

ARTEM: THOUGHT TRACK: This is happiness. Before the war I hadn’t been all that fond of all those get-togethers, but now I value them... Because for the last nine months I’d see my family, one or two days a month at the most, and that was only when I got lucky

BLACK TEXT ON WHITE: ARTEM, 19

INT. ARTEM’S BEDROOM – NIGHT.

ARTEM takes us on a tour of his bedroom. He lays out ARMY KIT. The young boys is a SOLDIER

CONT’D.

ARTEM continues the tour and lays out his SLEEPING BAG.

ARTEM: UPSOT This is my room. It’s is a bit of a mess, it’s a bit untidy, I apologise. This is all my stuff. This is my belt, over there below is my bullet-proof vest, and my actual uniform

VO: When he’s home, 19-year-old Artem still lives with his Mum but he isn’t here much.

ARTEM: UPSOT And a sleeping bag I’ve been sleeping in for around the last six months, in the mud, in Bakhmut, everywhere really.

VO: Artem and his family are among the thousands of Russians who fled to Ukraine to escape the Putin regime.

VO: Now, Artem’s at war with his former country.

ARTEM: UPSOT: I am the best Russian there is. I’m both alive and I am fighting for Ukraine

AD BREAK

ARTEM: IV: When we were stationed in Kharkiv. The area was under heavy fire at the time, I thought “I’m done for. Hell I’m a dead man.” But somehow, thanks to my good fortune, I basically managed to make my way out, and survived.

VO: Artem Gubanov joined the Ukrainian army just days after he turned 18.

VO: An infantry soldier, Artem’s spent the past year fighting on the frontline of some of war’s deadliest campaigns.

IV: ANASTASIYA.

BEN chats with ARTEM’S MUM in a small, SEWING ROOM.

MOTHER: IV: I was very concerned, scared for him, and the only thing left for me was to pray.

RESUME: IV: ANASTASIYA.

MOTHER: IV: Now, he has come back after nearly one year of service, it feels like he is older than my other children. We, of course, accept his decision, but with a heavy heart. The war has not finished yet, and Artyom has not finished participating yet.

ARTEM’S MUM SEWING

VO: Artem’s Mum, a former costume designer, mends uniforms for soldiers like her son.

MOTHER: UPSOT: Artem is six in this phot. By they way, he has beautiful hair. Very good hair.

VO: In just a few days, she and Artem will be separated once again.

IV: ARTEM.

ARTEM: UPSOT: I’mleaving for the frontline again and it’s not a given that I will see my family soon and, touch wood, I may never see them at all...I am worried. But I have this, like, simple logic, that is, if I die, really, I won’t be worried by anything, I’ll just vanish somewhere. And for that reason I won’t be tormented by shame and regret over being mourned.

EXT. TRAIN STATION – DAY.

YOUNG SOLDIERS in uniform get on and off TRAINS. One is on CRUTCHES… none look happy but there’s a quiet pride. PEOPLE nod, reverently as they pass.

VO: An estimated 17,000 Ukrainian soldiers have already been killed in action, some as young as 18.

EXT. DESTROYED SHOPPING MALL – DAY.

BEN and ARTEM enter an abandoned shopping mall. It’s bombed and burnt out – much like Ukraine’s young men.

VO: Even if they survive, it seems the boys who leave never really come home.

IV: ARTEM.

A darkness creeps into the normally, peppy, ARTEM.

ARTEM: IV: At the start everything was unclear and of course frightening…

CONT’D.

ARTEM: IV: And after that I can say that it became scary and exciting… For me it happened that I received a kind of thrill from this. And you begin to… in my case, I can’t say it’s the same for everyone, in my case I become cold-blooded.

CONT’D.

ARTEM: IV: Death, and injury, blood and all that, I can say that for me, it changed me a lot. I was a child before, and the war has totally changed me. Some people might say that it has stuffed me up, in fact. But I would say that it has changed me.

CONT’D.

BEN: IV: How do you feel when you see other 19-year-olds? Do you feel different.

ARTEM: IV: I feel slightly removed from all that. There was an instance when I was walkingalong and a group of teens were coming toward me, with music and beers, and I thought: ‘Shit, what kids!’ but then, about a second later, it struck me that, hey, I was just like them, that I was the same age as them.

ARTEM: IV: I have too much experience for my 19 years, well of course that sometimes makes be sad, and I have problems with sleep however I have no regrets about anything, About myself, I understood that I am, that I am mortal, that I have blood. That I can die.

EXT. KHARKIV STREETS – DAY.

Our bleakest shots of Kharkiv yet. Destroyed buildings… Barricaded Streets… Sandbags piled as high as the snow drifts. But then…

VO: During war… it’s hard to think about anything other than survival… But right now, Ukrainians are focusing on something else…

EXT. KHARKIV FLORISTS – DAY

Small flower stores, burst with YELLOW and BLUE ROSES. CUSTOMERS by bunches for loved ones… It’s Valentine’s Day.

VO: Today is valentine’s day.

VO: It’s a BIG DEAL here… and this year, lovers nationwide are going all out… especially young soldiers.

EXT. BRIDGE OVER RIVER – LATER.

A YOUNG WOMAN waits, alone on a bridge. She lights up when ARTEM enters, carrying a bunch of the YELLOW & BLUE ROSES.

YARYNA: UPSOT: Thank you.
ARTEM: UPSOT: You are welcome.
YARYNA: UPSOT: They’re beautiful.

IV: ANASTASIYA

ARTEM’S MUM pops up glowing about IRYNA, her son’s GF.

MOTHER: IV: Her name is Yaryna. They already had a relationship, it // was just starting… The war stopped their studies and future plans.

RESUME: BRIDGE DATE.

The SUN literally comes out and kisses the couple – the rays are nearly as bright as IRYNA’S smile.

YARYNA: UPSOT: Oh look, the sun is out.

ARTEM: UPSOT: Just over there for now.

YARYNA: UPSOT: The sun comes out everywhere at once.

RESUME: IV: ANASTASIYA

MOTHER: IV: Their love, one can say, has evolved has become stronger. She is waiting for him. She meets him when he comes back. We are very happy that Artyom has such a great girl.

RESUME: BRIDGE DATE.

The giggly couple KISS.

YARYNA: UPSOT: Would you like to kiss me or not?

ARTEM: UPSOT: What about you? Would you like to kiss me or not?

** THEY KISS **

IV: ARTEM

A light has returned to ARTEM. He is a different kid when speaking about her.

ARTEM: IV: I would say she is one of the most creative and interesting people that I have ever met. She’s very positive. I guess it’s her most amazing quality

RESUME: IV: ARTEM

ARTEM: IV: She’s said several times that I’m a hero, to which I’ve replied: Not really. But she says that for her I’m a hero. She… I mean she doesn’t like all this, because I’m running about everywhere, I could get injured, or die. She respects my choice, respects it and is proud.

RESUME: BRIDGE DATE

ARTEM: UPSOT: We’ll stay in touch, we’ll call each other, we’ll message each other. As we used to.

CONT’D.

ARTEM: IV: I can say that she’s an amazing person and I'm extremely happy that I know her, that we go out together, and that she loves me.

RESUME: BRIDGE DATE

ARTEM: UPSOT: Today we’ll celebrate, tomorrow – tomorrow I’ll get some sleep.

VO: Just days away from returning to the frontline, it may be love that helps bring a teenage soldier home.

CONT’D.

ARTEM & IRYNA walk off… hand in hand… smiling – a light snow falls.

ARTEM: I realized how I need to live my life. Because I am fighting not only for the people of Ukraine, I am actually fighting for my family, for her, I know that when I return home, someone will be waiting for me.

CREDITS