The short documentary film Becoming Lev tells the inspiring story of Valerii, a young boy from Kharkiv, Ukraine. Valerii has one dream; to become a professional football player just like Evgeniy Levchenko (Lev). It takes dedication, passion and family to reach this goal. Valerii had a rough start in life but thanks to his supporting foster family he is able to dream again.

This 17 minute long film received widespread attention when it won the Rotterdam Sport Film Award and was also selected for the well-known Internation Film Festival Rotterdam. This was certainly a highlight in my career so far! 

I've worked on this together with JaJa Film Productions, Outlandish Films and Breath Care for Kids and many other parties involved to make this financially and logistically possible. While political tensions were already present at the time, we were able to shoot everything safely in and around Charkiv, Ukraine. Right now, all we know is that the production team and Valerii and his family are safe. 

View more info on IMBD, or check out the press kit.

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