This Friday, February 24, marks its first year. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine war on the way to extension. During these 12 months, various audiovisual works tried to describe the details of the war, but the offer is growing exponentially these days. For example, actor and director at the Berlinale Sean Penn just out of the competition’superpower’, a tribute to the ukrainian resistance and the president Volodymyr ZelenskyAnd Matt Damon announced that he plans to shoot an ambitious project on conflict. main priest He is in Kiev this Wednesday to perform ‘El objetivo’ for La Sexta.
This week, which coincides with the year the war started to escalate, we have several free premieres that examine the war in Ukraine from different fronts. with many characters documentary, but there is also a fictional mini-series with many shades of reality. The protagonist is a mother in search of her son, who is imprisoned in prison. Donbass.
Mother (Arte.tv)
Although the vast majority of audiovisual works on the war in Ukraine have chosen the documentary format, we can also find fiction. The free European cultural streaming platform includes in its catalog: four-part mini-series Even though it was withdrawn in 2021, ‘Mother’ reflects very well what thousands of mothers affected by the war can go through today. Nina, a nurse at a hospital in Ukraine, learns on her birthday that her son Vital, who volunteered at the front to defend her country, had fallen. imprisoned in Donbas. He will not hesitate to embark on a dangerous journey to find her. Available here.
Missing children of Ukraine (Saturday 25. TVE-1. 22:00, in ‘Weekly Report’)
Documentary from the EBU Investigative Journalism Network, The ‘disappearance’ of Ukrainian children from war-torn regions brought to Russia for admission to families or government institutions. Temporary guardianship quickly led to the adoption of a presidential law in Russia that facilitated citizenship and thus immediate permanent adoption by Russian families. Governments, NGOs and the UN around the world have condemned this practice. Some sources at least 13,000 children transferred. A total of 126 people have been extradited to Ukraine, but only if a family member can find them and muster the courage and resources to demand the child’s surrender.
Ukraine, travel to other fronts (TV3alacarta)
Journalist Luis Caelles and camera David Bou Away from war strategies and geopolitics, they take a tour of Ukraine, focusing on the real victims, namely the population. The work shows it tales of endurance and rebellion and how did the citizens ‘civilian soldiers’they use their own ‘weapons’ to deal with the invaders. Just as the medical team at the Tropinka hospital in Kherson invented a covid epidemic so that the Russians would not turn it into a military center; or teachers who refuse to teach Russian according to the new curriculum of the invaders; or networks of spy grandmothers who take the names of enemy soldiers, tanks, vehicles and locations to transmit to Ukrainian soldiers. Available here.
Spring in Mariúpol (Thursday 23. 2:00 p.m. on ‘Documents TV’)
Documentary in which Italian journalist Maurizio Vezzosi voices the helpless testimonies of the city’s residents. Mariupol, one of the most affected by the war. It was the largest steel center in the world until February 2022. donbas region Mariupol, which has remained under Ukrainian control since the 2014 war, has made it a key player for Russia, thanks to its port area and its economic and commercial importance thanks to the large steelworks Azovstal. It contains heart-wrenching testimonies of a resisting people. 56 days siege to which they were subjected by the Russians.
Ukraine: The war diary of a pediatrician (Arte.tv)
Anesthesiologist who manages the hospital’s intensive care unit, Dr. German documentary about the daily life of Vira Primakova. Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospitalin Lviv. While her husband is fighting on the front lines like millions of other Ukrainian men, she is fighting her own battle in the emergency beds where she is treated every day. patients under the age of 18 for injuries from mines and landslides. Recently, the doctor has seen how his functions expand, acting almost like a therapist. Since he has to deal with the traumas of the injured and even medical personnel, he has to provide not only medical care but also psychological care. Available here.
Zelensky’s story (Thursday 23. 2, 23:00)
When Sean Penn presented the documentary ‘Super Power’ at the Berlinale these days, he confessed his admiration for the president. Volodymyr Zelensky. “Aside from the birth of my children, that meeting [con Zelenski] It was one of the best moments of my life,” stressed the actor and director. Because the president of Ukraine has undoubtedly become one of the greatest figures of the war. The documentary about Zelensky’s story sheds light on his story, that of a comedian who became a star for the first time in a television series. ‘servant of the people’ (his character, paradoxically a high school teacher, reached the presidency of Ukraine) and, to the surprise of many, that he was elected Prime Minister in 2019 and stood as a hero of the country’s resistance. ‘Time’ magazine also named him Man of the Year in 2022.
Duel: Zelenski against Putin (Arte.tv)
German documentary examining two presidents confronting each other over the Ukraine war, Zelensky and Putin. The study explores the Russian propaganda that justified the start of the war (“The aim is to protect those who have suffered abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime”, the Russian president can be heard saying) and how each has evolved over the past year. . includes references diplomats, political scientists, military strategists and journalists English, German, Ukrainian and Russian. Available here.
EASTERN PARTS. TOMORROW: VISIONS FOR UKRAINE (Arte.tv)
Olga OsinnyaA young Ukrainian exiled in Berlin due to the outbreak of war returns to his homeland to tell his compatriots how he sought ingenious ideas to survive the ravages of war. Like Ivan, a computer scientist who uses e-cigarette batteries to make power kits, or Anton, a young entrepreneur who during the war decided to open a cafe in central Kiev. It also shows how they see the future. Members of the LGTBI community who left their country. Because Ukrainians are optimistic: 88% believe they will join the European Union in 10 years and enjoy prosperity. In addition, many Ukrainian artists, singers, inventors and businessmen believe that their country should not be reduced to the role of a victim. Available here.