Born in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Alina Didenko is in the final year of her Master's programme in Sound and Image at the School of Arts of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa. As a refugee student, she finds pain to be her greatest source of inspiration. ‘Seeing something good come out of all the pain makes it feel even more valuable,’ she tells us.

And that's what Alina does through the films she produces, such as her final course project ‘Bus Stop’. A short film she made with the responability ‘to share the awareness of the Russian aggression in Ukraine and save the culture while the aggressor tries to physically erase it with the war.’

With this film, the student illustrates an ‘international animation community gathering together as birds that build a common nest to watch films all together."

This inspiring project represents the ‘responsibility to help the homeland even from abroad’ and Alina's hope to help save the country regaining independence through artistic expression.

With a past marked by war, on this World Cinema Day, the young artist emphasises: ‘all art is political.’ It's a manifesto, whether it's to support or criticise the conditions around us.

With a degree in Fine Arts, Alina was able to resume her studies, interrupted by the war, at Católica, where she was supported, and found a community of refugees who share similar stories.

All thanks to the Refugee Student and Researcher Support Initiative. ‘I'm grateful for this experience, which has helped me integrate into Portuguese animation and art society, and to continue my studies after leaving my homeland,’ says the young artist.

Veja o trailer da curta-metragem: