Ukraine’s Sota Cinema Group is now working on War Through the Eyes of Animals [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], an anthology film that will tell poignant stories of people and animals at war. A total of 11 short stories set during the war in Ukraine and based on true accounts will be included in the movie.

Oleg Kokhan, the man behind the idea and the producer of the film, explained to Cineuropa: “It is very important for us that not only Ukrainian, but also foreign, directors will take part in our anthology film. After all, we talk about war as a humanitarian catastrophe that destroys all [forms of] life around and inside each of us. And the fact that the artists have shared this terrible reality with us proves the relevance of the theme of ecocide in Ukraine. Animals that Ukrainians save every day have become a symbol of love and kindness, helping us to preserve the right to be called human and to realise how valuable every life is for the future.”

(L'article continue plus bas - Inf. publicitaire)

Three episodes have been filmed so far. The heroes of the first two are a rabbit (Rabbit or There and There, directed by Max Tuzov) and an undisclosed predator (Son, directed by Oleksiy Mamedov). Meanwhile, the third episode is called The Cow in the Fog and tells of the fate of bovines in Ukrainian villages. Notably, the lead cow, Milka, was indeed injured during the shelling of the Kyiv region last spring.

Yuri Gruzinov, cinematographer of The Cow in the Fog, said: “At first, it seemed to us that it was impossible to shoot a cow at all. Experts were twiddling their thumbs, and the cow's owner said that she had never seen guys as funny as us. But thanks to the fact that our boy protagonist spent 24/7 with the cow – they ate together, and he learned to understand her, not just milk her – they interacted in the frame as real partners, not even friends. So we got what you will soon see in the film.”

Yulia Shashkova, director of the same episode, added: “There are a number of stories about animals in times of war. And many of them are horrible. But we are making a film about love, about the unity of people and animals, about humanity that can save lives. Of course, no one can replace a child who has lost his parents, but the cow becomes a friend and a guide for the boy. As for the happy ending, it is, as the filmmakers say, abstract – that is, everyone hopes for it and strongly believes in it.”

A festival tour as well as distribution in Europe and worldwide are slated for later this autumn. At this year’s Berlinale Co-Production Market, SOTA Cinema Group held negotiations with sales agents and potential distributors. The outfit also signed a memorandum of cooperation to produce the anthology movie with the support of some of the most experienced Baltic filmmakers, an initiative spearheaded by Estonia’s HypnoFilm.

You can watch the trailer for War Through the Eyes of Animals below: