Academy Award-Nominated ‘Porcelain War' To Screen At The Hague As Final Oscar Voting Nears Close
The documentary set in wartime Ukraine won the DGA Award last weekend, honoring the work of directors Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev. Bellomo is set to attend the Cinema for Peace Foundation's prestigious Gala Awards Ceremony in Berlin on Monday, where the film is nominated for 'Most Valuable Documentary of the Year.' And on Thursday, a special screening of Porcelain War will be held at The Hague in the Netherlands.
More from Deadline
'No Other Land' Directors Denounce Trump Gaza Takeover Plan: "It Is So Irresponsible, It's So Immoral"
In Oscar-Nominated 'Incident,' Body-Cam Footage Shatters Police Account Of Black Man's Shooting Death
Doc Talk Podcast Talks Oscars With Nominees Smriti Mundhra And Molly O'Brien
'The Hague event is expected to attract numerous high-level guests, including multiple ambassadors, ministry representatives, the Dutch Special Envoy for Ukraine, members of parliament, European Commission representatives, and cultural leaders,' notes a release. Bellomo commented, 'At a time when global distractions abound, we are deeply honored to have these opportunities to remind audiences of the realities facing the people of Ukraine. The ongoing tragedy experienced by civilians, as highlighted in our film, demands continued attention…'
The Cinema for Peace Foundation's gala and The Hague screening come as the war in Ukraine is set to enter its fourth year, on February 24. Porcelain War documents artists Leontyev and his wife, Anya Stasenko, who combine their gifts to craft stunning figures out of porcelain (Leontyev sculpts them and Stasenko paints them in intricate detail). But after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Slava was compelled to devote much of his energy to the defense of his country, training soldiers in weaponry.
'I still worked on porcelain when I had time for this, because this is our life,' Leontyev explained in a new interview with Deadline. 'It's a way to bring ourselves back to a normal state of mind in these stressful times.'
Leontyev and Bellomo had known each other before the full-scale invasion. After Russian tanks stormed the border and missiles rained down on much of Ukraine in what Russian Pres. Putin euphemistically termed a 'special military operation,' Bellomo got in touch with his friend and they discussed a possible cinematic collaboration.
'When Brenda called me, it was an amazing opportunity for us to share our very personal experience,' Leontyev recalled, 'and show all these amazing actions around us and show the beauty with this amazing people, my friends from my [military] unit, beauty of people in darkest of times and humanity that still exists. It was important. And we just started work.'
Bellomo got a camera to Leontyev to begin the filming process.
'I asked him, 'Do you know anyone who could just press record on the tripod with the camera? If you guys are in the scene?'' Bellomo said. 'And he says, 'I know someone.''
That someone turned out to be Andrey Stefanov, a painter and longtime friend of Leontyev and Stasenko's who did not have any experience as a cinemtographer. Leontyev sent Bellomo images of the artist's work.
'He sends me this folder of oil paintings, photographs of these masterworks… I was physically moved by this,' Bellomo said. 'To have a painter of that emotional ability who understands light and composition, he knew where to put his canvas. And I said, 'This is a cinematographer. He's just not a camera operator.' And you can teach that, but you can't teach somebody to be a cinematographer.'
Porcelain War weaves between images of battle and pastoral scenes shot in the Ukrainian countryside, sometimes showing Leontyev and Stasenko walking with their beloved dog Frodo, an endearing presence in the film. The moments in nature aren't simply interludes in the film but subtly communicate all that is being lost to Russia's unprovoked aggression.
'We really love nature, and this nature is so fragile,' Leontyev noted. 'During the war, so many of our national parks and national forests burned because of shelling. And now these forests are mined by the landmines. Ukraine now is [the most mined] territory in the whole world… [It will take] hundreds of years of work to clear all these territories. And because of this, we were so focused on this fragile beauty and really filmed every piece of nature like if it was last day.'
On Wednesday, Pres. Trump phoned Putin, later reporting that they had agreed to holds talking on a peace settlement in Ukraine. The president's apparent concession to Russian wishes and terms has been labeled 'appeasement' by many of the United States' ostensible allies. The Trump administration has sent mixed messages about whether it would even allow Ukraine to participate in negotiations meant to decide its fate.
But Ukrainians remain resolute in defense of their territory and culture. Art, Porcelain War makes clear, is part of that resistance.
'The idea wasn't just that they were choosing to pick up weapons,' Bellomo says of Leontyev, Stasenko and Stefanov. 'The idea was they're choosing to make art. The opposite of war is not tranquility and peace. The opposite of war is creativity, creation, community, these concepts that are rebuilding, that are restorative, that are bringing people together. And I thought that's an unexpected miracle that those are the choices that they're making.'
Best of Deadline
How To Watch The 'SNL50' Anniversary Concert And Three-Hour Special This Weekend
Everything We Know About Christopher Nolan's Next Film – 'The Odyssey': Release Date, Cast And More
'Bridgerton' Season 4: Everything We Know So Far
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
15 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
European leaders to join Ukraine's Zelenskyy for White House meeting with Trump
KYIV (AP) — European and NATO leaders announced Sunday that they'll be joining President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington for crucial talks with President Donald Trump, rallying around the Ukrainian leader after his exclusion from Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The remarkable move — with one European leader after another announcing that they'll be at Zelenskyy's side when he travels to the White House on Monday — was an apparent effort to ensure that the meeting goes better than the last one in February, when Trump berated the Ukrainian president in a heated Oval Office encounter. 'The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr. Zelenskyy to the hilt,' said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France's military mission at the United Nations. 'It's a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump," he said in a phone interview. The European leaders' presence at Zelenskyy's side, demonstrating Europe's support for Ukraine, could potentially help ease concerns in Kyiv and in other European capitals that Ukraine risks being railroaded into a peace deal that Trump says he wants to broker with Russia. It wasn't immediately clear whether all or just some of them would be taking part in the actual meeting with Trump. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on X that she will take part in the talks, "at the request of President Zelenskyy.' The secretary-general of the NATO military alliance, Mark Rutte, will also take part in the meeting, his press service said. The office of President Emmanuel Macron announced that the French leader will travel on Monday to Washington 'at the side of President Zelenskyy' although it didn't immediately specify that he'll be in the meeting. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will also be part of the European group, but the statement from his office likewise didn't specify that he will be in the talks with Trump. The grouped trip underscored European leaders' determination to ensure that Europe has a voice in Trump's attempted peace-making, after the U.S. president's summit on Friday with Putin — to which Zelenskyy wasn't invited.
CNBC
16 minutes ago
- CNBC
Ukraine and allies left scrambling as Trump shifts toward Putin after Alaska summit
LONDON — Ukraine and its allies were scrambling Sunday to respond to President Donald Trump's apparent shift toward Vladimir Putin's hardline position after their summit in Alaska. European leaders announced that they would join Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington on Monday as they seek to navigate America's new approach to ending the war. Trump signaled Saturday that he was reversing his insistence on a ceasefire and instead pursuing a permanent peace deal — aligning the United States with the Kremlin rather than Kyiv and its European backers. As Ukraine and Europe work out how best to move forward, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von de Leyen, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that they would be joining Zelenskyy, perhaps hoping to ensure there is no repeat of his last Oval Office meeting. "The trip will serve as an exchange of information" with Trump, Merz' office said. "The talks will address, among other things, security guarantees, territorial issues, and continued support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression." The news came ahead of a virtual meeting of the so-called "coalition of the willing," which includes more than 30 countries working together to support Ukraine. While Trump's reversal on pursuing a ceasefire before fuller peace talks fueled alarm on the continent, he did appear to have taken a step toward another position more aligned with the wishes of Ukraine and Europe. Trump directly engaged with Zelenskyy and European leaders by phone early Saturday morning about the U.S. taking part in a potential NATO-like security guarantee for Ukraine as part of a deal with Russia, two senior administration officials and three sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News. "European and American security guarantees were discussed," one source familiar with the discussions said. "U.S. troops on the ground was not discussed or entertained by [Trump]." The security guarantees would be made in the scenario that Russia were to invade Ukraine, again, after a would-be peace deal, the sources said. The sources said that those protections, as discussed by the White House, would not include NATO membership — despite European leaders saying in a joint statement Saturday that Ukraine should be given the right to seek NATO membership. But it was clear that the summit had left Ukraine feeling uneasy. Zelenskyy warned that the Russian leader was complicating efforts to end the war by refusing to halt the brutal fighting before holding further talks. "Russia rebuffs numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing. This complicates the situation," Zelenskyy said in a post on X late Saturday. For civilians on the ground, still under Russian attack even as the diplomatic maneuvering played out, it was not just the substance but the optics of the Alaska talks that caused frustration. "I was hoping that the U.S. wouldn't roll out the red carpet to the enemy," Kyiv resident Natalya Lypei said Saturday. "How can you welcome a tyrant like this?"
Tom's Guide
an hour ago
- Tom's Guide
7 best twist endings of all time
What makes a successful twist ending? First of all, it has to surprise the audience. If you somehow guess the twist before it happens, then the movie failed to do its job. Furthermore, the twist has to make sense. Movies like 'Serenity' and 'Remember Me' featured shocking endings that did not belong. These twists ruined, not helped, the story. This month, 'The Usual Suspects' celebrates its 30th anniversary. The final twist in the Oscar-winning thriller is still one of the best in cinematic history. Where does it rank among all-time twist endings? Let's find out. 'It was clear whoever got that role was going to blow up,' Matt Damon said about auditioning for the 1996 legal thriller, 'Primal Fear.' The role in question was for Aaron Stampler, a stuttering boy accused of murdering the archbishop of Chicago. Edward Norton won the coveted part and, like Damon predicted, blew up, culminating in an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. There's no proof as to what moment secured Norton the critical acclaim; the best guess is that it happened during the film's final moments. After a not guilty verdict, Aaron reveals he faked an alternate personality to get away with murder. Richard Gere's stunned look speaks for everyone in that moment. Watch on Paramount Plus If you listen closely, you might still hear Charlton Heston's scream at the end of 'Planet of the Apes.' In the distant future, astronaut George Taylor (Heston) and his crew crash-land on an unknown planet where apes are the dominant species. On this planet, apes can talk and think like people, while humans are mute and primitive. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. The makeup and philosophical themes have stood the test of time and even spawned an entire franchise that still exists today. However, the ending remains the film's lasting legacy. Taylor learning that the planet he landed on is Earth in the future remains a stroke of genius and a shocking conclusion to a revolutionary film. Rent/buy on Amazon or Apple Imagine being a child in 1980 and seeing 'The Empire Strikes Back.' After George Lucas opened your world to the wonder of a space opera in 'Star Wars,' you then learned that Darth Vader, one of the three most famous villains in cinematic history, was the father of Luke Skywalker. In today's Hollywood, twists are spoiled within minutes of the embargo lifting. But 45 years ago, you had to sit on that cliffhanger for three years before the trilogy wrapped in 1983's 'Return of the Jedi.' If this list consisted of misquoted lines in movie history, 'The Empire Strikes Back' might occupy the top spot. As much fun as it is to say, 'Luke, I am your father,' the correct reciting of Darth Vader's line reads, 'No, I am your father.' Watch on Disney Plus From a critical standpoint, 'Psycho' is on the shortlist of most influential horror movies ever produced. Alfred Hitchcock's mystery centers around Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a real estate secretary who, after stealing money from her employer, flees Phoenix for California. Due to heavy rain, Marion stops for the night at the Bates Motel, where she meets a peculiar proprietor, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Hitchcock solidified his 'Master of Suspense' title thanks to his revolutionary camerawork and haunting score. The tale also included two twists. The first occurs during a stabbing in the shower. The final twist happens near the end, when Norman, not his mother, is revealed to be the killer. Norman's sadistic smile will be ingrained in your memory. Rent/buy on Amazon or Apple The first rule of Fight Club: Do not talk about Fight Club. Apologies to Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, but we have to break the first rule for good reason. David Fincher's crime drama follows the journeys of the unnamed Narrator (Norton) and soap salesman Tyler Durden (Pitt) as they form an underground fight club. The club attracts depressed men looking for excitement in their lives. Eventually, the club transitions into Project Mayhem, an anarchist movement to disrupt the social order through acts of violence and vandalism. The Narrator disapproves of Tyler's methods until he realizes — and here's the twist — that Tyler is his alter ego. The second rule of Fight Club should be: Don't talk about the twist unless your job requires you to make a list about twist endings. Watch on Hulu The movie that inspired the list has to be near the top. For nearly the entire 106-minute runtime of 'The Usual Suspects,' Agent Dave Kujan (and the audience) attempted to identify the criminal mastermind known as Keyser Söze. Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) led us to believe Keyser Söze was Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne). Then, Kujan drops the coffee cup as the details from the random flyers jump off the wall. Keyser Söze was none other than Verbal Kint, and the moment his limp disappears remains one of cinema's most iconic images of the last 30 years. Watch on Prime Video The biggest strength of 'The Sixth Sense' is its twist ending. It also happens to be the film's greatest weakness. 'The Sixth Sense' relies on its twist more than any other movie on this list. It's hard to enjoy M. Night Shyamalan's psychological thriller and pretend like the reveal isn't coming. The twist is all you can think about, which hurts the movie's rewatchability. Nevertheless, learning that Malcolm (Bruce Willis) had been dead the entire time was jaw-dropping. It changed the trajectory of Shyamalan's career and became the new standard for twist endings. Rent/buy on Amazon or Apple Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
