This film looks at the war in Ukraine from the bottom up, through the eyes of two children in search of a ray of light. Shot during the siege of Kharkiv.
On a cold February morning, 12-year-old Niki and his family arrive at the Kharkiv metro station to take shelter from the terrifying war raging outside. For Niki's family, daylight is synonymous with mortal danger, and the boy is not allowed to leave the station premises, living under the constant glow of their neon lights. While aimlessly wandering around the abandoned cars and full platforms, Niki meets Vika, and a new world opens up to him.
»Photophobia is a very original and beautifully observed film set today in an underground Kharkiv metro station in the middle of the war in Ukraine. But this is no miserabilist cliched war story. We see the way human beings — and children in particular — learn to create a new way of living. There is hope here, and joy in the small things like the occasional luxury of feeling the sun on their faces for example. The film is exceptionally well made, with the cinematography a standout.« (jury for the Europa Cinemas Label Award)