Is it an alternative and visceral new documentary about Ukraine? Is it a time travel film of sorts, as its title suggests? Is it “a portrait of resistance and collective memory in which personal loss and political history become inseparable,” as one description reads? Well, Time Machine Maidan is all of that – and more.
The film, which takes a first-person, POV-type approach and is created with the goal of immersing audiences, comes from directors Roman Liubyi (War Note, Iron Butterfly) and Volodymyr Tykhyy (One Day in Ukraine, The Green Jacket) and world premieres in the international competition lineup of the Sheffield DocFest on June 11.
It builds a narrative bridge between the Maidan Revolution, also known as the Revolution of Dignity, that started in Ukraine in late 2013 and continued until February 2014, to today’s war started by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sparked by then-president Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to abandon European Union membership in favor of closer ties with Russia, the Maidan uprising ultimately led to his ouster.
The doc is “reinterpreting the Maidan Revolution through the lens of the present and [the] experience of the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” highlight the press notes. “The film creates a haunting bridge between the bloody confrontations of 2013 and today’s battlefields, with Maidan standing as a pivotal moment in recent Ukrainian history.”
‘Time Machine Maidan’ film still, courtesy of Babylon ‘13
As such, the film can be viewed as a story of memory, courage, loss, and “the enduring human need for peace, freedom and the preservation of dignity in the face of oppression in all its forms,” notes the creative team. “With no steady camera to offer distance or comfort, it confronts the viewer directly, placing them in the midst of both the physical and emotional turmoil.”
The doc does so via a wounded soldier, “suspended in a liminal state of consciousness,” who time-travels into the cold Kyiv of December 2013. There, he begins a search for Maksym, a young poet and future warrior, also known as Dali, who he knows will die in the Russia war. The time traveler hopes to warn him and save his life, but is confronted with a painful truth. “Freedom is not the power to rewrite fate, but the courage to choose it,” explain the press notes.
“In this haunting and visually inventive documentary, a spectral voice drifts through time and memory to trace the Maidan Revolution and the roots of resistance in Ukraine,” reads the synopsis on the Sheffield festival website. “The voice is searching for Maksym, a friend and mentor killed in the war with Russia, and the grief of that loss propels it backwards and forwards through time.Time Machine Maidanweaves together archival footage and on-location images in a dreamlike, surrealist flow, intercutting between the Maidan uprising, a summer camp, and the shadow of the present war.”
‘Time Machine Maidan’ film still, courtesy of Babylon ‘13
With cinematography by Yuriy Gruzinov and editing by the directors, Time Machine Maidan was executive produced by Bohdanna Semen of Babylon ’13 and produced by Andrii Kotliar, who is also handling sales. Time Machine Maidan is a Babylon ‘13 production in collaboration with Suspilne Ukraine and co-produced by Germany’s Trimafilm.
“The film is a reflection of who we are right now, who we were 10 years ago and where we are going as individuals and as a nation,” highlights Liubyi In a director’s statement. “Maidan had many angles, and for my generation, Maidan was like a club. All the people I was interested in were there. We spent nights there. I had a date at Maidan. I met my wife during Maidan. It was our youth. It’s not just a boring page from a history textbook.”
And he explains: “I felt the need to make a film dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Revolution of Dignity. The whole course of our history – and world history, too – was defined by the Maidan Revolution. There is still no proper film I can show my daughter about Maidan.”
‘Time Machine Maidan’ film still, courtesy of Babylon ‘13
Shares Tykhyy: “What we witnessed during the first months of Ukraine’s defense particularly in the battles for the outskirts of Kyiv was, in many ways, a direct continuation of the ‘Maidan initiative’: horizontal networks, self-organization, and the construction of fortifications by ordinary citizens with their own hands. This was an effective form of resistance that helped stop the enemy. In the first months of the full-scale war, this ‘spirit of Maidan’ became a decisive factor in Ukraine’s defense.”
And he emphasizes: “Our film is addressed primarily to young people. During the Maidan, they were children or teenagers. Today, there is a profound socio-cultural need for self-understanding. Young Ukrainians need access to an authentic history, rather than censored narratives or concepts shaped decades ago under the influence of Russian mythmaking. The film seeks to answer a fundamental question: ‘Who are we, as Ukrainians?’”
Can’t wait to get a first peek at the sights and sounds of Time Machine Maidan? THR can exclusively premiere the trailer for the doc below. Get ready to time travel through chaos and get a first taste of the spirit of resistance! Get ready for Time Machine Maidan!