Boris Khovriak, a Ukrainian soldier and protagonist of Kateryna Gornostai’s Berlin Competition documentary Timestamp, said “the only way is to win this war”, in response to US president Donald Trump’s controversial comments this week about the conflict.
Speaking at the Berlin press conference for Gornostai’s documentary, Khovriak said, “every 100 years attempts are made by Russia to destroy Ukrainian culture, and destroy the Ukrainian state”.
“The only way is to win this war,” said Khovriak in response to a question about Trump’s comments about the war. “The Russian Federation must be pushed back beyond the internationally-recognised borders; we must defend Ukraine above all.”
Khovriak is one of the key figures in Timestamp which depicts how the war has affected the lives of students and teachers. Formerly a teacher, Khovriak was called up to the Ukrainian army following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and attended the press conference in his military uniform.
Yesterday (Wednesday, February 19) Trump labelled Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky “a dictator” who “better move fast” or he “won’t have a country left”, in a post on his right-wing social media platform Truth Social.
Questioned about his emotions around the film, Khovriak said, “It’s not about my emotions. It’s hard to convey that in words. I understand we must defend Ukraine, we must defend our education system against Russian aggression. No matter what happens we will continue to defend Ukraine, we will protect the children.”
Later in the conference, in place of a question, US journalist Daniel Eagan addressed the panel on the topic of Trump’s comments. “I’d like to apologise for my country,” said Eagan. “Part of the US is for Ukraine, the wrong people are in charge of our country now, and we support Ukraine. Thank you for this wonderful film that shows why we should support your country.”
Belgium’s Best Friend Forever handles world sales on Timestamp. It is Gornostai’s second feature, after Stop-Zemilia, which debuted in the Generation section at the 2021 Berlinale.
Timestamp producer Olha Bregman said she expects Zelensky will attend the Ukrainian premiere of the film, at an as-yet-unconfirmed date.
“Berlinale has the first opportunity to see this movie,” she said. “It’s the first Ukrainian film in Competition in more than 28 years.”
However Gornostai was absent from the conference after giving birth just two days ago. The film’s editor and Gornostai’s partner Nikon Romanchenko said she may yet be able to attend the world premiere this evening.
“I hope she will manage to go to the premiere today, and we can switch places, and I will be with the baby,” said Romanchenko.
Producer Natalia Libet closed out the conference by praising the film team for its work. “Timestamp is about the future. We still believe that we can have a happy future,” said Libet.
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