Ukraine Industry Strikes Defiant Note in Berlin Two Years After Russian Invasion: ‘War Is Our Reality. It Is Not Our Identity’
variety.comChristopher Vourlias The Russian invasion of Ukraine will mark its second somber anniversary next week, though in recent months the conflict has been pushed from the headlines in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.
But with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy arriving in the German capital on Friday in an effort to shore up flagging European support for his country’s defense, Ukrainian film professionals at the Berlin Film Festival are determined not to quietly disappear from the global stage.
Amid red carpet protests over the conflict in Gaza and continued controversy over Berlinale leadership’s fumbling response to the far-right AfD party’s opening-night invitation, festivalgoers got a grim reminder that the Ukraine war drags on when an air raid siren from jury member Oksana Zabuzhko’s phone interrupted Thursday’s jury press conference — a signal, she explained, that the latest Russian missile attack on Ukraine had ended.
An air raid siren went off on Oksana Zabuzhko's phone during a press conference at Berlinale.The Ukrainian writer is a member of the main jury of the Berlin International Film Festival, which opened yesterday, 15th of February.Oksana Zabuzhko explained to those present that… https://t.co/VAEFycP6Y1 pic.twitter.com/Y1fvHhuc44 As the international industry’s first major confab of 2024 kicks off this week, Ukrainian film professionals remain steadfast and defiant despite the physical, emotional and economic toll of the war with Russia.
Read more on variety.com
