Do you know what the most incredible thing was about Mariupol? No one feared death, even if people thought they did. Death was already there, and everyone wanted to die valuable. People would help each other, even if it meant risking their lives. People would smoke outside and chat, even if the bombs were falling. Money stopped existing, and life was too short to recall it, and everyone was happy with what they had, becoming better versions of themselves; there was no past or future or judgment, or talk between the lines. That was heaven in hell. That was the delicate butterfly wings touching closer. That was the smell of the naked value of death. That was life there.
“This film would not exist if it were not for Mantas love for the people and the residents of Mariupol, if it were not for his belief in the power of cinema, if it were not for Hanna's clandestine removal of the footage, and if it were not for the fact that Russia had started the war in Ukraine. This film is about life. It is also a memorial to Mantas Kvedaravičius, who was killed in the making of it, and to all the people who died in the war.” (Dovilė Grigaliūnaitė)
World Premiere: Cannes Film Festival, 2022
Awards: Special Jury Prize, Cannes, 2022; Best Documentary, European Film Awards, 2023.
Director's biography:
Mantas Kvedaravičius (1976-2022) was a Lithuanian-born filmmaker with a degree in social anthropology from Cambridge University. His first documentary film, Barzakh was selected in numerous festivals and won several awards, including the Amnesty International Prize and the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the Berlinale in 2011. His following two films, Mariupolis (2016) and Parthenon (2019) were selected at the Berlinale and the Venice International Critics' Week, respectively. Mantas Kvedaravičius was captured and killed by Russian Forces in the end of March, 2022 in Mariupol while documenting Russia's invasion of Ukrainian territory.
Language: Russian
Subtitles: Lithuanian, English
