Questioning the impact of indoctrination and propaganda on children in the modern world, Blue Sweater with a Yellow Hole is a coming-of-age documentary that weaves together animation, observational cinema, and participatory filmmaking.
The film follows three Ukrainian children – Taisa (15), Kyrylo (12) and Kira (9) and their friends – as they process and draw memories of their six months in a Russian ‘re-education’ camp.
As their memories unfold, sketches transform into edgy and evocative animations — capturing not only doubts instilled by indoctrination but also moments of childhood wonder, joy, and adventure.
We’re left wondering if their testimony and courage can be the alarm we need to create better protection for all children.

This project urgently connects policymakers, art spaces, and educational institutions to create shared understanding, interdisciplinary dialogue, and new strategies to better protect children from manipulation, identity erasure, and violence. Children’s indoctrination in occupied territories of Ukraine is ongoing and escalating into militarisation. There are documented cases of indoctrinated children later sent to fight against Ukraine and killed. This is not only a Ukrainian issue. Reactions to our events show recurring patterns — from Indigenous children in Canada to Polish children forcibly removed and Germanized during World War II, as well as horrifying contemporary cases.