On 12th May 2022 LAB-1 will be showing two documentaries based on the ongoing war in Ukraine. Eugenia Grigorievna Melnik is the maker of these two documentaries Avdiivka and the Letters from the Front. She is a war correspondent and screenplay writer from Ukraine.
Eugenia left Ukraine due to the war. She now lives as a refugee in Opperdoes. With these two documentaries, she wants to bring home the truth about the war in Ukraine. “The war in Ukraine is not only in specific territories, but there is also an information war going on. Our films are not about politics nor about propaganda. We make them so that after watching the documentaries people are free to make their own conclusions,” says Eugenia.
Two documentaries
The first documentary is titled Avdiivka (a city located on the front line in the Donetsk region). It is filmed from 2015 to 2017. This film won her the Best Ukrainian Film award at the International Short Film Festival. In this documentary, the local resident Vladimir Tolbatov, a poet, and writer describe the events that have taken place. He uses verses in the film and talks about his struggle for peace. It is a heartwarming tale of the people living in his hometown Avdiivka, and it speaks about their experiences in times of war.
The second documentary is Letters from the Front, and it depicts the children who live in the war zone, Donbass. “They send messages, sharing their experiences and hopes in these letters. The messages are not addressed to anyone in particular, but to anyone who’d watch these films,” explains Eugenia.
Awards
Both the films have won several prestigious awards, both Ukrainian and international. “Our mission is to show the people the truth. To show everything that is happening in the most important spots in Ukraine. Because this is our history, this is our tale, our chronicle, that is going to last for decades to come,” says Eugenia.
LAB-1 is showing these two beautiful documentaries on 12th May 2022. You may book your tickets from the website: https://www.lab-1.nl/en/film/voices-ukraine/
A report by Chaitali Sengupta
