A documentary short directed by Marcin Kundera
Cinematography: Marcin Kundera
Editing: Julia Kharybina
Music: Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Samoliuk
Production: I SEE YOU
Interview
Marcin Kudnera Filmmaker
“Despite the grim reality around us, it was a strangely beautiful time.”
- Could you introduce yourself, Macrin?
I’m from Szczecinek, a small town in northwestern Poland. I studied cinematography at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School in Katowice. For a long time, I travelled the world without really settling anywhere, until I found myself in Ukraine, where I ended up staying for over two years.
How did this film come about?
This film was born out of protest. When the full-scale invasion began in 2022, I didn’t know how to help. My partner and I volunteered at the Polish-Ukrainian border, and organised fundraisers, but it all felt insufficient. Then, due to prior commitments, we had to leave for Central Asia for a few months. That’s where the idea struck me: why not use my skills to channel this inner protest?
I decided to make short films for the internet, telling the stories of children living through today’s global crises. That’s how I SEE YOU came to life. I knew from the start that the first story had to be about Ukraine.
After returning from Asia, I was offered a job as a camera operator for a Polish TV station. While working in Kramatorsk, a frontline city, a boy named Vova approached me, offering to wash my car windows. We started chatting, and he instantly charmed me. I thanked him but asked if he’d be interested in being in a film. “Sure, why not?”, he said. “I once gave an interview on TV, so I know how it works!”
I met his mother, got permission, shot some test footage, and then suddenly had to return to Poland. Over the next six months, I worked on securing a press accreditation and preparing for filming.
After nearly three days of driving back to Kramatorsk, I stopped by my favourite local shop. Around the corner, Roma appeared, also offering to wash my windows. My first thought was: perfect, there’s his buddy! It turned out the boys already knew each other and had worked together before. And that’s how it all began.
“These kids have never known a world without war.”
- Gaining trust as a filmmaker, especially when working with children, is not easy. How did you convince them and their parents?
I was very aware of how difficult it might be. Some foreign guy shows up and says: “Hey, I want to make a film about your child!” But with Vova’s parents, it was easy. I met them first, and we stayed in touch throughout the preparation. Roma’s parents took a little more time. I showed them my previous films and photos from Ukraine. After about a week, they agreed. Having a press accreditation from the Ukrainian Armed Forces probably helped too.
For the boys, it was much simpler. From the start, they saw it as something fun. There’s not much happening there. Kids are left to themselves while their parents work hard to provide for them. Of course, I had to earn their trust, but after about a week, they stopped performing for the camera… and just started being themselves.
- Your film was shown at FIPADOC Biarritz in January 2025. After the screening, the audience kept asking: why do these children seem so alone? Where are their parents?
The film does give the impression that Vova and Roma are the last kids left in Kramatorsk. The reason is simple: neither of them wanted me to film their homes, and I had to respect that. Their parents were busy working, and finding stable jobs in the current situation is incredibly difficult.
Of course, they’re not the only children in town. I filmed other kids, but in the end, many parents decided not to grant permission, or the children were living with relatives who legally couldn’t sign off on it. So I chose to focus on just the two boys.
I never wanted to suggest they were completely alone or unsupervised. That’s why there’s a phone call to Vova’s mom in the film. But in reality, their days were repetitive: we’d meet around 9 AM and part ways before curfew at 9 PM. It was summer, blistering heat, nothing to do… Most places were closed except for grocery stores, barbershops, and a few restaurants.
The kids spent their days outside. Their only escapes from the monotony were the lake, chatting with Russians online, and, of course, making a film. Despite the grim reality around us, it was a strangely beautiful time.
“I realised that the key was to be physically close to the camera, holding it at eye level.”
- Kids around the world play war. But in your film, the war is real. Given their ages, Vova and Roma have never known peace. How do they experience war?
They don’t play war. There are no good guys and bad guys, no cops and robbers. There’s just one role: I have a weapon, you are the target.
The full-scale invasion has been ongoing for three years now, since February 2022, but let’s not forget that war has been a reality in Donbas for over a decade.
These kids have never known a world without it. That’s why, paradoxically, they cope better than adults. They don’t fully grasp what they’ve lost because they’ve never experienced anything else. Explosions are part of daily life. Almost everything around them is either destroyed or fortified against shelling.
Of course, it affects them. But the real question is: what happens in the future? Will they be able to adapt to what we consider a “normal” world? A world without air raid sirens, funerals of friends and neighbours, constant aggression and death? I hope so.
- What was your stylistic approach? You film gently, and sensitively, without slow motion or violins. And from time to time, it’s… no longer you behind the camera.
From the beginning, I knew I didn’t want to impose anything. I just wanted to accompany them, day by day. I was curious about what growing up in a war zone looked like. I didn’t want to focus on the war itself but rather capture life through a child’s perspective.
The first few days were difficult, and most of that footage ended up in the trash. But then I realised that the key was to stay physically close, to film at their eye level. Almost the entire film was shot on a 24mm wide-angle lens.
Even so, I often felt it was still my perspective, not theirs. Then, completely unprompted, Roma grabbed the camera, jumped on his bike, and started filming.
Shaky, imperfect, but real. That’s how my favourite scene in the film, the school tour, came to be.
“People often don’t even realise short documentaries exist!”
- A word about 99?
I love the idea behind this platform. So many great films disappear after their festival runs because there’s no dedicated space for documentary shorts. Sure, there’s YouTube, but it’s overwhelming, and you have to know exactly what you’re looking for. People often don’t even realise short documentaries exist!
I also think filmmakers themselves are partly to blame. After festivals, many films are abandoned instead of being pushed for wider distribution. I get that legal rights can be tricky, but let’s be honest: none of us are doing this for the money!