5 Must-watch Ukrainian films that pre-date Russia’s 2022 invasion
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Loading... - Jenab Chan
- 10 Feb 2023
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For an insight into the years preceding Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, watch these five films
In the last few months, we’ve been watching some key Ukrainian films, all made before Russia invaded the country last February. They often focus on the conflict in eastern Ukraine that started in 2014, but they also take us back to a time when other things than war could be at the centre of a film – such as a teenage love story, as in ‘Stop-Zemlia’. They also provide an important background to the war that is unfolding today.
Here are five films – both documentaries and feature films – that oDR particularly likes. All are available to watch with English subtitles, several of them on Takflix, a Ukrainian streaming platform that launched in 2019.
It is also worth noting that the Ukrainian Institute has launched a digital platform to help global audiences discover Ukrainian film. It showcases more than 600 titles (including four of the films listed below).
‘Mariupolis’ (2016)
Documentary, 90 minutes, Mantas Kvedaravičius
This documentary focuses on everyday life in the southern port city of Mariupol, which was then at the frontline of a conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists. The Lithuanian anthropologist and filmmaker liked to refer to his films as “fieldwork”, and it’s easy to see why in this beautifully observed film. Kvedaravičius returned to Mariupol last year to do more filming. According to an investigation by Dmytro Durnev and Yulia Balakhonova, he was killed by Russian soldiers while helping civilians evacuate from the besieged city. A sequel to Kvedaravičius’s documentary, ‘Mariupolis 2’, based on his last rushes, was completed by his partner Hanna Bilobrova, and edited by his long-term editor Dunia Sichov. It premiered at the Cannes film festival in May 2022. Read More…
