(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 12 - Lithuanian director MantasKvedaravičius, who directed Barzakh (2011), Mariupolis (2016) and Parthenon (2019), was captured and assassinated by the Russian army in Mariupol at the beginning of April.
His girlfriend, Hanna Bilobrova, who was with him at the time, was able to bring back the footage shot there and edit it with Mantas editor Dounia Sichov.
"The film is called Mariupolis 2, it was essential to show it, we added it" announces the organization of the Cannes Film Festival tonight (17-28 May).
Mariupolis 2 will be screened on Thursday 19 May in the Teatro Buñuel at 11:30 and on Friday 20 May at 11:00 in the TeatroAgnès Varda for the press.
In 2022, Mantas Kvedaravičius returned to Ukraine, in Donbass, in the heart of the war,
to be with the people he met and filmed in 2014 and 2015. After his passing, his producers and collaborators put all their strength to continue to broadcast his work, his vision and his films.
With enormous strength and sensitivity, Mariupolis 2 describes life as it continues amidst the bombing and reveals images that convey both tragedy and hope.
"Do you know what's more extraordinary about Mariupol? None of these inhabitants feared death, even when it was there. Death was already there and no one wanted to die unnecessarily. The people supported each other at the risk of their lives.
They smoked and chatted outside, Despite the bombs. There was no more money and life had become too short to remember, so people were happy with what they had and pushed their limits. There was no more past or future, no judgment, no implication of anything. It was the paradise in hell, the delicate wings of the butterfly that fluttered ever closer to each other, the smell of death in its raw dimension. It was the heartbeat of life. "
The film this evening in Sardinia will open the Carbonia Film Festival in Sulcis.
(HANDLE).
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