In the Rearview, the winner of International Documentary Association’s Best Film Award and The Grand Jury Award at Sheffield International Documentary Festival premieres on VOD and Digital August 16.

When Russia escalated its war against Ukraine in 2022, Polish director Maciek Hamela bought a van and volunteered to drive Ukrainian refugees – mostly women and children – on their quest to escape. IN THE REARVIEW is an authentic, intimate observation of war as it unfolds, following multiple generations of Ukrainian civilians as they abruptly abandon their homes and rely on the help of Hamela’s volunteer aid van to escape the life-threatening conflict. As he steers through minefields and attempts to get through numerous military checkpoints, Hamela offers viewers a seat in the van, guiding the documentary from behind the wheel and behind the camera, crisscrossing the roads of Ukraine to transport uprooted refugees safely to Poland. Traversing tens of thousands of kilometers across a bruised and battered landscape, the van serves as a waiting room, hospital, shelter, and zone for confidences and confessions among compatriots thrown together by chance.

Shot almost entirely inside Hamela’s van, the poignant and powerful documentary uses “the power of protest through personal filmmaking instead of blunt messaging” (RogerEbert.com) to create a collective portrait of those most vulnerable in this ongoing geopolitical struggle.