THIS RAIN WILL NEVER STOP

Best Debut Film, IDFA – Amsterdam

Best Film, Festival dei Popoli – Firenze

Best Documentary, BELDOCS – Belgrade

Best Cinematography – Millennium Docs Against Gravity – Warsaw

A journey through the endless cycle of war and peace that has always marked humanity, a powerful cinematic tale. Andriy, the son of two conflicts, tries to carve out a future amidst the suffering of war.

After they fled the war in Syria, the Suleyman family was scattered across Europe. Lazgin lives with his family in Ukraine, but his brother Koshnhav is in Germany, while a third brother is in Kurdish Iraq, and a fourth remains in Syria. This Rain Will Never Stop follows Lazgin’s son Andriy, who is now a volunteer with the Red Cross and dealing with another military conflict, this time in Ukraine. Whether to escape the war or help relieve the suffering on site-such is the dilemma that Andriy struggles with during a visit to his brother in Germany and an emotional reunion with relatives in Iraq. After the sudden death of his father, Andriy decides to accompany the body back to Syria. Andriy’s journeys are interspersed with footage of humanitarian relief efforts, displays of military strength, festive gatherings, and slices of everyday life-like an endless cycle of war and peace, in striking black-and-white cinematography. A dark atmosphere and the sparingly supplied information emphasize the grief and uncertainty within a war-torn family.

with

Alina Gorlova – young Ukrainian director and editor, author of short award-winning documentaries, fiction and social and commercial spots. This Rain Will Never Stop is her outstanding second feature film, after An Obvious Signs. The festival awarded her the Special Images of Courage 2022 Award.

Francesco Strazzari – Full professor of political science at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, adjunct research professor at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. Specialized in security studies, armed conflicts, geopolitics and transnational organized crime.