Up in the Air
9-year-old Sasha studies at the circus studio in Kharkiv, Ukraine. He devotes all his spare after-school time to practicing aerial exercises. His teacher and head of the studioSvetlana (50) sees him as a talented and promising artist. There are 100 kids studying in a circus studio. Svetlana’s son Zhenia (24) is an aerial gymnast too, a studio graduate, and he helps her with teaching kids. However, he has a different teaching approach and an ambition to develop his own modern circus. After the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, Svetlana and 26 circus children evacuate to Budapest. The Princess of Monaco invites them to perform in Monte Carlo in a show which is organized to support Ukraine. Zhenia stays in Kharkiv to defend their country.
Up in the Air VR
UP IN THE AIR is a story about children who develop their abilities in the circus studio 'The Old Circus'. They are air gymnasts. The studio's students win numerous international festivals and competitions, some of them perform in French Cirque du Soleil. Children train 3-4 hours a day. Their teacher Svetlana takes care of choreography and safety. These kids are future students of the Ukrainian National Circus Academy and future artists of the Ukrainian Circus.
Children used to train in a unique building - the Old Circus named after Grikke which is over 120 years old in their hometown Kharkiv, Ukraine. This is the first stone circus in the city and in the country.
5 years ago for the purpose of reorganization officials shot the Old Circud building down without offering the studio another place for training. The children were left without heating, then without electricity and they were not allowed into the building afterwards. The head of the studio was illegally fired. The parents and the head of the studio were unable to defend the rights of the children. They had to find a new place for teaching children. But the building of the Old Circus is still not used in any way, it is empty, partly destroyed, quiet, it is dominated by several old officials of the Soviet regime. Children were breathing life into it but now circus is in danger to be destroyed completly.
Currently, the children's studio performs exercises in the air at the inapplicable stage of the Cultural Center. Children love the circus and dream of returning to its arena. Together with them the viewer find themselves on the arena of the Grikke circus where they draw their dreams of a new circus. We can touch their dream and make it come true. Then the whole building of the circus is reconstracted in a new scenografy. We can watch the performance of the child who invented it.
The last time the viewer is asked a question: does he want to keep the circus or delete it?
Children used to train in a unique building - the Old Circus named after Grikke which is over 120 years old in their hometown Kharkiv, Ukraine. This is the first stone circus in the city and in the country.
5 years ago for the purpose of reorganization officials shot the Old Circud building down without offering the studio another place for training. The children were left without heating, then without electricity and they were not allowed into the building afterwards. The head of the studio was illegally fired. The parents and the head of the studio were unable to defend the rights of the children. They had to find a new place for teaching children. But the building of the Old Circus is still not used in any way, it is empty, partly destroyed, quiet, it is dominated by several old officials of the Soviet regime. Children were breathing life into it but now circus is in danger to be destroyed completly.
Currently, the children's studio performs exercises in the air at the inapplicable stage of the Cultural Center. Children love the circus and dream of returning to its arena. Together with them the viewer find themselves on the arena of the Grikke circus where they draw their dreams of a new circus. We can touch their dream and make it come true. Then the whole building of the circus is reconstracted in a new scenografy. We can watch the performance of the child who invented it.
The last time the viewer is asked a question: does he want to keep the circus or delete it?