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February 27 (Thursday)PORCELAIN WAR (US/Ukraine, 2024)
Box office opens at 6. Films start at 7 PM , tix are $10, cash preferred
Winner of the Best Documentary Prize at Sundance and over 40 awards worldwide, including an Oscar nomination, Porcelain War is the most decorated documentary of the past decade. This is a rescheduled screening after it was cancelled due to a winter storm. CinemaSavannah is happy to finally bring it to our program for a most timely screening. A portion of each ticket price will be donated to Razom for Ukraine, the most well-known organization providing international aid to Ukraine: https://www.razomforukraine.org/
Amidst the chaos and destruction of the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine, three artists defiantly find inspiration and beauty as they defend their culture and their country. In a war waged by professional soldiers against ordinary civilians, Slava Leontyev, Anya Stasenko, and Andrey Stefanov choose to stay behind, armed with their art, their cameras, and, for the first time in their lives, their guns. Despite daily shelling, Anya finds resistance and purpose in her art, Andrey takes the dangerous journey to get his young family to safety abroad, and Slava becomes a weapons instructor for ordinary people who have become unlikely soldiers. As the war intensifies, Andrey picks up his camera to film their story, and on tiny porcelain figurines, Anya and Slava capture their idyllic past, uncertain present, and hope for the future.
Co-directed by Leontyev and Brendan Bellomo, with extraordinary footage from first-time cinematographer Stefanov, Porcelain War embodies the passion and fight that only artists can put back into the world when it’s crumbling around them. With an evocative score by the Ukrainian folklore band, DhakaBrakha who will be performing on March 27 as part of the Savannah Music Festival . In English, Ukrainian, Russian, with English subtitles. 87 minutes.
“This film doesn’t flinch from violence, but it finds hope in a people’s patient refusal to surrender who they are.” Globe and Mail (Canada)
“A sublime and stirring documentary from American filmmaker Brendan Bellomo and Ukrainian ceramicist Slava Leontyev about living, fighting and creating under siege.” LA Times
“Backed by a feral, driving score from Ukrainian folkloric quartet DakhaBrakha, “Porcelain War” makes the case for art as another protective weapon against imperialism.” San Francisco Chronicle
“That Porcelain War emerges as a taut, effective war documentary that also features compelling animated sequences within the beautiful artwork of its lead subjects makes it a stand-out piece of filmmaking. Its existence proves its own point: even in war, there must be life. Art sustains us and helps us survive” Film Stage
“Cinematic essays take many forms: few are as fragile and contemplative as Porcelain War.“ Screen Daily
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Savannah Culture Arts Center, Savannah, United States
