A new German-Ukrainian co-production titled 'I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming' is drawing critical attention for its distinctive approach to the ongoing war in Ukraine, centering a trans relationship story amid the conflict's upheaval. Reviewed by Variety, the film stands apart from the wave of documentary work that has dominated cinematic responses to Russia's 2022 invasion. With formal ambition and a focus on lives rarely seen in mainstream war coverage, the film is being recognized as a meaningful addition to an underrepresented genre.
- 1The film is a German-Ukrainian co-production, reflecting the international creative collaborations the war has spurred
- 2It focuses on a transgender relationship, offering a perspective largely absent from both war films and Ukraine-related media coverage
- 3Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022 and has generated extensive documentary filmmaking but relatively little scripted drama
- 4Variety praised the film for its bold formal imagination and its commitment to portraying neglected lives within the broader conflict
A Dramatic Gap in Ukraine War Storytelling
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, filmmakers and journalists around the world have responded with a surge of documentary and nonfiction work. Films capturing frontline conditions, civilian displacement, and the resilience of Ukrainian society have screened at major festivals and earned awards attention, forming an important visual record of the conflict. Yet scripted drama — the kind that can explore interiority, relationships, and emotional nuance over time — has been slower to emerge, leaving a significant storytelling space largely unfilled.
That gap is partly understandable. Dramatic productions require longer timelines, larger crews, and logistical planning that active conflict zones make enormously difficult. But the absence of fiction filmmaking also means that certain human experiences — ones that don't fit neatly into frontline narratives or survival stories — risk going untold. 'I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming' positions itself as an answer to that silence, choosing drama precisely because some truths are better reached through imagination and character than through direct documentation.
Trans Lives and the War: A Rarely Told Story
One of the film's most striking qualities is its decision to place a transgender relationship at its emotional core. LGBTQ+ individuals in Ukraine, as in many countries affected by armed conflict, face compounded vulnerabilities — navigating both the dangers of war and the social and legal pressures that can accompany non-conforming identities. While Ukrainian civil society has made notable strides in LGBTQ+ visibility in recent years, broader media coverage of the war has rarely made space for these experiences.
By building its narrative around a trans couple, the film draws attention to an often-invisible community within a conflict that the world is already struggling to fully comprehend. This choice is not merely representational — it shapes the film's emotional logic, grounding sweeping geopolitical catastrophe in the intimate details of two people trying to sustain a relationship under extraordinary pressure. It is a reminder that war does not pause for anyone's private life, and that love and identity persist even in the most hostile conditions.
Formal Ambition and the Co-Production Model
Critics have highlighted the film's formal ambition as one of its defining strengths, suggesting that its makers are not simply using the war as a backdrop but are genuinely experimenting with how cinema can render this particular moment. Bold visual and structural choices signal a filmmaking team uninterested in conventional war-drama templates, instead reaching for something more personal and aesthetically considered. This kind of approach carries risk but also the potential to leave a more lasting impression than straightforward realism might.
The German-Ukrainian co-production structure itself reflects a broader pattern in European filmmaking since 2022, as Western European producers, broadcasters, and funding bodies have sought to support Ukrainian creative talent displaced or affected by the conflict. Germany, home to a significant Ukrainian diaspora and one of Europe's most robust film funding ecosystems, has become a natural partner for such collaborations. These partnerships allow Ukrainian stories to reach international audiences while ensuring that the creative vision remains rooted in lived experience rather than outside interpretation.
Why it matters
Fiction filmmaking about the Ukraine war has been notably scarce, meaning that 'I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming' enters a space where it can genuinely shape how international audiences emotionally understand the conflict. Its focus on a trans relationship highlights the diversity of people affected by the war and challenges the narrow lens through which armed conflict is usually portrayed. For film industry observers, the project also illustrates how European co-production models are helping Ukrainian voices reach global screens during an extraordinarily difficult period.
Common questions
What is 'I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming' about?
It is a German-Ukrainian dramatic film set against the backdrop of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, centered on a transgender relationship. The film uses the conflict as a setting to explore identity, intimacy, and the human cost of war from a perspective rarely seen in either war cinema or Ukraine-related media.
Why has there been so little dramatic filmmaking about the Ukraine war?
Scripted drama typically requires longer production timelines, larger crews, and stable conditions that are extremely difficult to achieve during active conflict. Most filmmakers responding quickly to the war have turned to documentary formats, which are faster and more logistically flexible, leaving the space for fiction largely open.
