Anton Dubrovin

The First Day

Film

June 22, 1941. Soviet officer Polikarp Sokolov begins what seems like an ordinary summer day, carrying thoughts of his wife, children, and home. But the fragile calm is suddenly destroyed by the German invasion of the Soviet Union. While Polikarp faces the first devastating attack on the front line, his family is caught in the terror of an air raid, forced to flee as the familiar world around them collapses. A final letter becomes the thread connecting two realities: the peaceful life they are losing and the war that will separate them forever. Inspired by the true story of the director’s great-grandfather, The First Day is a personal film about memory, family, sacrifice, and the moment when history enters an ordinary human life.