I RARELY WAKE UP DREAMING
A film by Isabelle Stever
Screenplay : Anna Melikova
Produced by Uwe Schott, Tom Tykwer (X-Filme Creative Pool), co-produced by Natalia Libet
Drama / 100 min / Germany, Ukraine / 2026
Language : Ukrainian
Subtitles : English
With
Tania Myronyshena, Markus Bright, Iryna Mak, Viktor Zhdanov, Maiia Sobolevska, Maria Myronyshena, Oleksandr Rudynskyi
P&A
Presskit
Official selections
Locarno Film Festival – International Competition – The Environment is Quality of Life Prize (Switzerland)
New York Film Festival – Main Slate (USA)
Busan Film Festival – World Cinema (South Korea)
Chicago Film Festival – Outlook Competition (USA)
Tokyo International Film Festival – Women’s Empowerment Programme – Ethical Film Award (Japan)
Tallin Black Nights Film Festival – Standing with Ukraine (Estonia)
Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Grece)
The 45th Cambridge Film Festival – Golden punt for best feature discovery (UK)
Seminci – FIPRESCI Prize (Spain)
São Paulo International Film Festival (Brazil)
Viennale – (Austria)
Seville European Film Festival (Spain)
Cologne Film Festival (Germany)
Riga International Film Festival – (Lettonia)
Film Fest Gent – Official Selection (Belgium)
Leeds International Film Festival (United Kingdom)
Film Festival Cologne – NRW Competition (Germany)
Pink Screens – Official Selection (Belgium)
Vinokino – Official Selection (Finland)
Ukraïna! Film Festival – Feature Film Competition (Poland)
Cottbus Film Festival (Germany)
Mannheim Film Festival (Germany)
QCinema International Film Festival (Philippines)
Melbourne Queer Film Festival (Australia)
QueerCineMad (Spain)
Reviews
“German director Isabelle Stever brings sensitivity and visual ingenuity to this story of a young queer couple whose life together is upended by the Russian invasion.”
“A terrifically well-shot, well-acted, uniquely challenging movie about a belief system in crisis.
[…] An entirely absorbing film.
[…] The movie’s themes could hardly be more urgent and contemporary. ”
“How does war change love? And how does the transition from peace to warfare, in parallel with a gender transition, affect a queer couple?
[…] gives audiences a chance to explore those questions, while telling a deeply personal story that unfolds amid Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
Synopsis
The love of Olya and Oleh, a young queer Ukrainian couple, is put to the test when one partner’s gender transition collides with Russia’s full-scale invasion. As war narrows and challenges the boundaries of masculinity and femininity, they struggle to preserve their bond and sense of self. What does it mean to be a man in a country that is fighting for its identity and survival?
“The main young protagonists are played by non-professionals, who live under the same threat as their characters. Their experience was part of the film making process and essentially supports the story’s impact: Tania Myronyshena (OLYA), Markus Bright (OLEH) and Maiia Sobolevska (RADA). Their personalities and charisma represent a large group of young Ukrainians that shares values with many young people across Europe and beyond – values that stand in stark contrast to the worldview of the regime that sent the invaders.
For us as filmmakers and, as we believe, as well for the viewers, this contrast highlights the violence of the invasion in its deepest sense – not only as a military assault, but as an attack on a way of life. During rehearsals in Kyiv, we worked with improvisations. On set the young main actors received the scenes in English, which they translated into Ukrainian in their own words, while dialogue and action remained open to change. This allowed them to connect to the scenes in their own way and respond pristinely to each other in the moment. In the preparation and on set, our role as filmmakers was to listen to the Ukrainian cast as well as the Ukrainian crew’s perspectives and experiences, to create a space for all of them to shape the film.
As a Ukrainian-German filmmaking duo, we wanted to make a film that neither looks away from war nor lets it define every image. We place war’s violence alongside fragile quiet, fear alongside tenderness, and the extraordinary beside the everyday. Inspired by our Ukrainian friends’ journey through gender transition, we scrutinize the war’s irresistible transition into everyday life. By contrasting two profound transformations: one chosen, one imposed, we explore the topic of identity under extreme conditions..”
OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL TRAILER
COMING SOON
SCREENER
Date
31 July 2026
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