We are pleased to share inspiring news from Toronto: the Ukrainian documentary project "Blue Sweater with a Yellow Hole" by director Tetiana Khodakivska has received a Hot Docs First Look Award for Works-In-Progress at one of North America's premier industry platforms for documentaries in development.

🔗 hotdocs.ca/industry/conference/awards

Expected to be released in January 2026, the film explores the devastating impact of totalitarian propaganda on children’s lives — in real time. Through powerful animated scenes and the voices of Ukrainian children who survived Russian “re-education camps,” the film immerses viewers in their fragmented memories and the painful process of identity erasure. Ten-year-old Kira, 14-year-old Taisa, 15-year-old Artem, and over 50 other children share their drawings and recollections — of manipulation, isolation, punishment, and military training. What may initially appear to be summer camp routines soon reveals itself as a deep trauma of stolen childhoods.

Tetiana Khodakivska is an acclaimed Ukrainian director whose films — Angels of War (2013), Sugary Boundless or Song and Dance about Death (2018), and Foxter and Max (2020) — have received awards at Docudays UA, Ji.hlava, and the Chicago International Film Festival, as well as nominations from the Ukrainian Film Academy. Her work deeply explores childhood, memory, and war — and in this project, she confronts one of the most painful consequences of Russia’s ongoing aggression: the systematic attempt to break the spirit and identity of Ukrainian children.

Recognition at Hot Docs is yet another powerful reminder that Ukraine’s truth is not silenced — and that the voices of Ukrainian children are being heard across the world.

We warmly congratulate the creative team, and thank them for their courage, truth, and art.