“It was heaven in hell, the delicate wings of a butterfly fluttering closer and closer to each other, the smell of death in its raw dimension. It was the heartbeat of life, “the film says.
Film by Mantas Kvedaravičius, who was captured and killed Russian army in Mariupol in early April, will be shown in Cannes. The fiancée of the documentary filmmaker, who was with him at the time, was able to return the footage taken there and edit it. The film, which was announced on the website of the film festival, is called “Mariupolis 2”.
In 2022, the director returned to Ukraine, to Donbas, to the heart of the war, to be with the people he met and filmed in 2014 and 2015. After his death, his producers and staff went to great lengths to continue sharing his work, vision and films.
that convey both tragedy and hope, ”reads the festival's website.
At the same time, they add that the artist wanted to film as a documentary filmmaker, “away from the agitation of the media and politicians.”
The smell of death in its raw dimension
“Do you know what is most unusual in Mariupol? None of its inhabitants feared death, even when it was very close. Death was already everywhere, and no one wanted to die in vain. People supported each other, risking their lives. They smoked and chatted outside, despite the bombs. There was no money left, and life was too short to remember, so people were content with what they had and expanded their boundaries. There was no more past, no future, no judgment. It was heaven in hell, the delicate wings of a butterfly fluttering closer and closer to each other, the smell of death in its raw dimension. It was the heartbeat of life, “the film's description reads.
“It's bad that Europe doesn't even know what's going on here. European politicians often simply say that “we are concerned”. But from this we, unfortunately, are not cold, not hot. Ordinary people do not receive any money from the IMF to the government. My mission was to show that there is Russian aggression. That Ukraine needs help, information support. Tell us that there is a war going on here, ”said journalist Albiana Lvutina in 2016 at the presentation of Mariupol at the Berlinale Film Festival in Germany in 2016.
Read also: Deported Mariupol residents were resettled in 66 camps in remote parts of Russia – Investigation
When Kvedaravičius was first captured and then killed in early April this year, Lvutina clarified that after his wife found the body of the documentary filmmaker, he had to keep everything secret for some time:
< "In order not to be killed, so that the body was not destroyed, information had to be hidden. A limited number of people knew about the death, but as soon as the information reached the media, it was impossible to stop. We could never know the truth or even say goodbye with Mantas, "Levutina said.
