Porcelain War Explained

Cinematography:Andrey Stefanov
Music:DakhaBrakha
Animator:BluBlu Studios
Distributor:Picturehouse
Runtime:98 minutes
Gross:$25,213[1] [2]

Porcelain War is a 2024 documentary film directed by Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev. It won the 2024 Sundance Festival Grand Jury Prize and follows the experience of Ukrainian artists as they face the current Russian occupation in Ukraine.[3] [4] [5]

Premise

Porcelain War follows Slava Leontyev, Anya Stasenko, and Andrey Stefanov during the war in Ukraine. All of them join the Ukrainian defense,[6] and Slava works as a machine gun trainer. Even as the war goes on, Slava and Anya create porcelain figurines[7] in resistance to the war. The film emphasizes the purpose of art during conflict as well as national pride.[8] The soundtrack for the movie features music by Ukrainian Folk/ethno-chaos band DakhaBrakha who gave their entire discography for the film with a scene of their live performance during the credits.

The footage in Porcelain War includes Ukrainian landscape as well as the wreckage caused by war missiles.

Production

War footage for Porcelain War was captured by GoPro action cameras and aerial drones. The movie also features hand drawn and CGI animation scenes from Polish company BluBlu Studios.

Release

The film won the Grand Jury Prize for the U.S. documentary category in the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.[9] Bellomo, who created the film along with Leontyev, explained that the film received an award "because of the bravery of the people of Ukraine".[10] The film was also sponsored by the Utah Film Center. In August 2024, Picturehouse acquired distribution rights to the film.[11]

Reception

Writing for Canada's POV Magazine, Courtney Small said the war footage in Porcelain War, "walks a fine line between praising the resilience of Leontyev's people and serving as a propaganda tool for the Ukrainian army." He further writes that the film is more interesting when it focuses not on the war itself but on its everyday impact on the people.

Accolades

AwardDateCategoryRecipientResult
Sundance Film Festival28 January 2024U.S. Documentary Grand Jury PrizePorcelain War[12]
Sarasota Film Festival14 April 2024Special Jury Mention[13]
San Francisco International Film Festival28 April 2024Best Documentary Feature[14]
Seattle International Film Festival27 May 2024Best Documentary[15]
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival22 September 2024Audience Choice: Documentary[16]
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards10 November 2024Best New Documentary Filmmaker(s)Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev[17]
Best Political DocumentaryPorcelain War
Cinema Eye Honors9 January 2024Audience Choice Prize[18]
Outstanding ProductionPaula DuPre' Pesmen, Aniela Sidorska, Camilla Mazzaferro and Olivia Ahnemann
Outstanding CinematographyAndrey Stefanov
Outstanding Visual DesignBrendan Bellomo and BluBlu Studios

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Porcelain War (2024) . Box Office Mojo . December 2, 2024.
  2. Web site: Porcelain War – Financial Information . The Numbers . December 2, 2024.
  3. Web site: Fienberg . Daniel . 2024-01-27 . 'Porcelain War' Review: Intimate Reflection on Making Art in Wartime Ukraine Is Beautiful but Frustrating . 2024-01-28 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
  4. Web site: 2024-01-26 . Sundance's top prizes go to 'In the Summers' and 'Porcelain War' . 2024-01-28 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
  5. Web site: 2024-01-26 . 'In the Summers' and 'Porcelain War' win top prizes at Sundance Film Festival . 2024-01-28 . AP News . en.
  6. Web site: Roka . Les . January 24, 2024 . Sundance 2024: Porcelain War is extraordinary testament in new frame of documentary filmmaking about war combat, indispensable presence of art . The Utah Review. 24 January 2024 .
  7. News: Painter . Ryan . January 20, 2024 . Sundance 2024: 'Porcelain War' is a testament to the resiliency of the people of Ukraine . KVAL 13.
  8. Web site: Small . Courtney . 2024-01-23 . Porcelain War Review: The Fragile Nature of Conflict . 2024-01-27 . POV Magazine . en-US.
  9. News: Olsen . Mark . January 26, 2024 . Sundance's top prizes go to 'In the Summers' and 'Porcelain War' . Los Angeles Times.
  10. News: Associated Press . 'In the Summers' and 'Porcelain War' Win Top Prizes at Sundance Film Festival . U.S. News & World Report.
  11. Web site: Oscar Contender 'Porcelain War,' Documentary On Remarkable Artists In Wartime Ukraine, Acquired By Picturehouse. Deadline Hollywood. Matthew. Carey. August 14, 2024. August 21, 2024.
  12. https://festival.sundance.org/blogs/the-complete-list-of-2024-sundance-film-festival-award-winners/ The Complete List of 2024 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners|Sundance Film Festival
  13. Web site: 'Thelma,' 'Sugarcane,' and 'Alok' Win Top Prizes at the 2024 Sarasota Film Festival . July 24, 2024 . IndieWire. 15 April 2024 .
  14. Web site: Anderson . Erik . May 1, 2024 . 'Sugarcane,' 'The Teacher' Earn Awards at 67th San Francisco International Film Festival as SFFILM Enters a State of Change . July 24, 2024 . Awards Watch.
  15. Web site: Carson . Lexi . 2024-05-19 . Seattle International Film Festival Awards Top Honors to 'Sing Sing,' 'Gloria!' . 2024-09-27 . Variety . en-US.
  16. https://www.sudbury.com/lifestyle/the-count-of-monte-cristo-big-winner-at-cinefest-sudbury-9580887 "‘The Count of Monte-Cristo’ big winner at Cinéfest Sudbury"
  17. Web site: 'Sugarcane' Leads Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations. The Hollywood Reporter. Hilary. Lewis. October 14, 2024. October 14, 2024.
  18. Web site: Cinema Eye Honors: ‘Girls State’, ‘Ren Faire’ Lead Broadcast Nominees; Audience Choice Award Longlist Revealed. Deadline. Patrick. Hipes. October 24, 2024. November 15, 2024.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Porcelain War".

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