documentary project
Four outstanding Ukrainian artists suddenly find themselves surrounded by the war. When Russian troops crossed the border into Ukraine at five in the morning on February 24, the artists' lives changed dramatically. They were faced with an important question that had not been discussed in Europe for several generations: what is the role of an artist in times of war? The movie will alternate between the stories of the artists who, in their way, search for an answer to this question.
Daniil's story is about working with trauma. The first protagonist comes from the beautiful seaside city of Mariupol, where he spent the first weeks of the war in the basement, fleeing the incessant artillery fire. Eventually, he managed to evacuate to Kyiv, and now the memories of the days spent in the bomb shelter find a place in his evocative paintings. Attention will be paid to Daniil's creative process and adaptation to the new city.
Mykyta was preparing to leave for an artist residency in Austria when Russia attacked Ukraine. He sees his mission as telling the story of the war to as many people as possible through the mangled fragments of industrial objects. We'll follow him as he searches for objects from bombed-out buildings for an exhibition in Vienna's Museumsquartier.
Mykhailo's painstaking work concerns putting together fragile objects broken because of shelling. We will see him giving fragile things a second life. For example, Mykhailo brings back to life a crystal ashtray shattered into hundreds of pieces by a bombshell. All Ukrainians will have to go through a similar process after the war to recover from the upheaval they will have survived.
Anton could not imagine himself working in art when the war began. So he traded his restorer's brush for a rifle. He joined the National Guard in the early days of the invasion. We will see him catch his breath between battles and then return to the front to fight again, side by side with his father, a famous artist.
The movie will delicately tell stories of struggle and creativity, allowing the characters to share the inner workings of their world and reflect on their personal choices.
PROJECT TEAM
ANDRII LYSETSKYI, scriptwriter
He belongs to the third generation of one of the most talented cinematographers in Ukraine. He graduated from the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Film and Television University. He shot over 30 award-winning films. Ivan's Land is his documentary directorial debut.
Ivan's Land, dir. Andriy Lysetskyi, 2021
Main Jury Prize on the 15th.Poredonne Docs Fest, Italy, 2022
Best Non-Feature Film Award at the IX Bastau International Film Festival, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 2021
Grand Prix of the National Competition at the International Documentary Film Festival Docudays UA, 2021
Grand Prix of the National Competition at Kharkiv MeetDocs, 2021
Fourth National Film Critics Award "Kinokolo" for "Best Documentary".
GENNADY KOFMAN, producer
Producer, co-founder and board member of the International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival Docudays UA, member of the European Film Academy. Author, one of the founders and first director of the International Documentary Film Festival Docudays UA. The organizer of the International Documentary Film Workshop in Ukraine. Gennady was a jury member of many Ukrainian and international film festivals.
As a producer, he has created several animated films and produced more than 50 documentaries. In 1992, he founded the Magika-Film independent production company in Kharkiv, among the first of this kind in Ukraine.
His films have participated in and won prizes at many leading international film festivals, including such works as Prychynna (Ukrainian Film Academy Award), Delta (Best Ukrainian Documentary, FIPRESCI Award, Dok Leipzig Honorable Mention, ARTDOCFEST Award), The Living Fire (Special Jury Prize at Hot Docs Film Festival; The American Cinematographer Award; Best Ukrainian Film 2011-2015).