Trust or Rust, a documentary by Andrii Kashpur and Dmytro Khopta, explores the extraordinary surge of horizontal trust that emerged across Ukraine’s civilian and military communities in the first months of Russia’s full-scale invasion. In face of existential danger, spontaneous networks of solidarity and mutual trust flourished, binding strangers into a shared civic front.
The film asks a difficult question: what happens to that trust as war grinds on? And how can horizontal bonds between citizens sustain — or strain — vertical trust in institutions and government?
Anastasia Piliavsky took part in the filming, involved international experts, and helped to conceptualise and subtitle the film.