7 Films About Russia's War Of Aggression in Ukraine

Tragedies that leave deep wounds in people's lives inevitably provoke artists to creative reflection. Ukrainian artists have been affected by Russia's bloody war of aggression. Many artists, writers, performers, musicians, directors, sculptors, and cultural figures were forced to defend their homes with arms in hand. Some of them were killed, such as the Paris Opera soloist Vasyl Slipak, actor Pasha Lee, musician and founder of the Kyiv Rock School Volodymyr Bulba, writer and public figure Viktoriia Amelina... It is horrifying that this list of irreparable losses for Ukrainian and world culture can be kept going indefinitely.

Those artists who managed to save their lives are trying to recreate the immense tragedy of the war in their work.

Iron butterflies, 2023

On July 17, 2014, a Malaysian Airlines Boeing with 298 people on board was operating a scheduled flight MH-17 from the Netherlands to Malaysia. The airplane's route passed through eastern Ukraine, which had just been occupied by Russian troops. A missile fired from a Russian BUK anti-aircraft missile system shot down the passenger Boeing killing everyone on board. Several weeks passed before international experts were allowed to the crash site by Russian-controlled proxies. The more evidence of the terrible crime the investigation gathered, the more aggressive the Russian media propaganda became, spreading numerous manipulations and lies about the causes of the tragedy.

The joint Ukrainian-German feature-length documentary Iron Butterflies, directed by Roman Liubyi, tells the story of a cold-blooded terrorist act committed by Russia. The film demonstrates numerous evidences of the Russian crime and attempts to cover it up, as well as the international investigation: archival videos and photos, excerpts of interviews with witnesses, recordings of TV programs, and transcripts of negotiations between the Russian military. According to the film's director, Roman Liubyi, this is a story about unpunished evil and the connection between lies and violence.

The world premiere of the documentary took place at Sundance, the main American independent film festival, in Europe - at the Berlinale, in Ukraine - at the Docudays 2023 film festival.

Invisible Battalion, 2017

The Invisible Battalion is a Ukrainian documentary film almanac about women in the context of the war in Ukraine. The viewer follows the stories of six heroines who are or have been serving in the actual war zone: Olena Bilozerska, Oksana Yakubova, Andriana Susak, Daria Zubenko, Yuliia Paievska and Yuliia Matviienko.

"The Invisible Battalion was the first film made by women about women. The film was directed by three women: Svitlana Lishchynska, Alina Horlova and Iryna Tsilyk. The project began with an eponymous sociological study about women's participation in the war against the Russian occupation army, which was followed by a series of calendars with their frontline photos. The Invisible Battalion calendar won the Grand Prix at the 9th National Social Advertising Festival. The film became the third part of the project.

What makes this work unique is that it is the first attempt to document the real role of women in the Ukrainian army and demonstrate the impressive transformation that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have undergone since Russia's invasion in 2014.

At the beginning of the war, there were practically no official combat positions for women in the Ukrainian army. Due to the discriminatory practices of the Soviet army, actual mortar launchers, grenade launchers, and snipers working in flash points were recorded as "bath attendants" or "cooks" in the documents. The film clearly highlighted the problem and provoked a discussion.

Since then, Ukraine has legalized a wide range of combat positions for women working in the security and defense sector. Since 2014, the number of female soldiers has increased by 2.5 times, and the number of female officers has increased sevenfold.

20 days in Mariupol, 2023

The videographer Mstyslav Chernov and the photographer Evgeniy Maloletka were in Mariupol in the first hours of the Russian army's occupation of the city, during the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Soon, these two were the only journalists left to cover the horrors of war crimes committed by Russia in the captured Ukrainian city: bombing hospitals, maternity hospitals, or targeting residential areas with tanks.

The footage filmed by Ukrainians in Mariupol was published by the world's media, and the Associated Press was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the work of Ukrainian photojournalists Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka and Vasilisa Stepanenko.

The film "20 Days in Mariupol", directed by Mstyslav Chernov, shows the deliberate destruction of a peaceful Ukrainian city by the Russian army, and also records numerous war crimes committed by Russians during the capture of Mariupol. In fact, 30 hours of footage is perhaps the most important proof of the aggressor's unprecedented brutality during the city's capture.

The world premiere of the documentary "20 Days in Mariupol" took place at the Sundance Independent Film Festival, where the film received an award from the audience.

A House Made of Splinters, 2022 

The documentary tells the real life story of the children of the Lysychansk Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation in eastern Ukraine. The plot is driven by the stories of children whose growing up takes place against the backdrop of the Russian invasion and the tragedies of socially disadvantaged families.

"This is a film about children from difficult families who have been placed in an orphanage because of the war. They spend 9 months in the shelter and either return to their parents or are placed in an orphanage or foster family," says Azad Safarov, the second director and line producer.

Among the film's protagonists are social workers who keep working in the special orphanage despite the proximity of the front line. They also desperately try to create a much-needed space of safety and trust for the children.

"A House Made of Splinters" had no script, rehearsals or takes. "It was just me, the camera and my assistant. It was easier for the children to open up and be themselves. They often forgot that we were there and just lived their lives," recalls the film's director Simon Lereng Wilmont.

"In Simon Lereng Wilmont’s exquisitely intimate documentary “A House Made of Splinters,” the camera waits with them, quietly observing a fragile limbo period from which life can go in any number of directions... This is a stunning documentary portrait of children in limbo," Variety shares its impressions of the film.

The film is a co-production of Denmark, Ukraine and Sweden. In Ukraine, the film was co-produced by Darya Bassel and Viktoriia Khomenko.

In 2023, “A House Made of Splinters” was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary category.

Cyborgs, 2017 

Cyborgs by Akhtem Seitablayev, is one of the first Ukrainian blockbusters about war. The war drama tells the iconic story of the Donetsk airport defenders, who were called "cyborgs" because of their phenomenal invincibility. Contrary to logic, despite the absolute superiority of the Russian enemy in weapons and men, Ukrainian defenders held the outpost for 242 days. The battle for the airport lasted from May 26, 2014 to January 23, 2015.

The heroes of the Cyborgs are a small unit that defends the Donetsk airport terminal against the superior forces of the Russian military and proxies. The director sought to recreate in detail the everyday life of the fighters, the specifics of handling weapons, the way they move, the markings of equipment and vocabulary, so several real airport defenders were involved in the work on the film.

Crimea as it was, 2016 

The feature-length documentary "Crimea as It Was" produced by #BABYLON'13 and DocNoteFilms, tells the story of Ukrainian officers, soldiers and sailors who did not betray their oath of allegiance during the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014 and continued to perform their military duties "on land, sea and in the air". The film's director, Kostiantyn Kliatskin, invites the viewer to listen to the direct participants of historical events distorted by Russian propaganda and learn the real story of the occupation of Ukrainian Crimea.

Mariupolis 2, 2022

Six years ago, the Lithuanian filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravičius made "Mariupolis", a film about contemporary Ukrainian Mariupol. In the midst of a full-scale invasion, the documentary filmmaker decided to return to the city to document the story of desperate resistance to the Russian invaders. The focus is on Mariupol, the atmosphere of the private sector in February-March 2022, and several families seeking refuge in the House of Prayer.

The Russian military captured and killed Kvedaravičius, but some of the footage shot by the Lithuanian documentary filmmaker was rescued and edited into a film. "Mariupolis 2" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and in Ukraine at the Docudays UA 2022 Film Festival.