2020 Berlinale Generation presents the Ukrainian documentary “The earth is blue as an orange” which already won the documentary directing award at this years Sundance film festival. In a loving way the film follows single mother Anna and her four children as they document their lives on the Ukrainian/Russian boarder trough their own film project. Director Iryna Tsilyk manages to draw a deeply touching portray of a family trying to bring normality and hope into a life marked by war. The outstanding camera work creates pictures that are able to transport a feeling of surrealistic normality in circumstances who are terrifying real. With her first documentary feature film Iryna Tsilyk reminds us that although the media presence is decreasing the war between Ukraine and Russia is still going on. In our interview she talks about her film, a surrealistic place and the power of cinema.
THE FAMILY
Iryna Tsilyk and the family portrayed in film got to know each other trough the Ukrainian project yellow bus, where different professional filmmakers arrange cinema camps for teenagers in the war zone. The project gives kids the opportunity to write a script, shoot a film and to edit it afterwards. After producer Anna Kapustina introduced them to each other and Iryna Tsilyk got to know them, she fell in love with the family. “They are quite unique. She is a single mother with four kids and she does everything to fill their lives with joy. All the kids have different activities, they play music instruments, they have hobbies and when the girls brought the passion of cinema home, the mother even thought herself editing to support her children.”, tells Iryna Tsilyk with shining eyes. Through the process of making art the family is dealing with their own traumas of war. Living so close to the war zone is dangerous and it wasn't an easy decision for the mother Anna to stay in Krasnohoriwka with her children. “You try to be a normal family who drinks tea and talks about art, but at the same time the war is so close. Any moment, any night...”, Iryna sighs, “Its a matter of lottery living there.”
THE SUREALISTIC PLACE
Krasnohoriwka (Красногорівка) the city in which the family lives is located in the Donetsk region on the line of separation. It's one of the cities that is really destroyed by the war. “It almost looks like the death zone in Chernobyl, because so many people left their houses. Even the character of the sound is very different because its so empty and the grass is growing so high. It looks really weird and surreal. Also the houses are so shelled. So when you are there you realize, that the war is reality.”, Iryna tells. The film transports this feeling of surrealism she describes. Pictures of cats playing with trash or the moon shying behind a chimney symbolize the beauty of everyday life. But in the next moment the viewer is confronted with pictures of bullet holes and shelled buildings. “Some really contrasting things exist there so close to each other. It looked really surreal for me. This is also why we gave the film the title of a surrealistic poem.”, Iryna explains.
THE UKRAINIAN FILM
Besides others one of the main motivations for shooting “The earth is blue as an Orange” was to get rid of stereotypes Ukrainian people have about each other. Iryna confesses that she had them herself before visiting Donbass area. This is why she thinks that, besides presenting the film in different countries to remind the world about what is going on in Ukraine right now, it's also important to show the film in Ukraine. “We want to arrange screenings in different cities in Ukraine and especially in the war zone. Some of these people feel so lonely there. When I meet people like this family I think its so important to support them and to remind them, that they are not alone.”, is what Iryna tells. In general the Ukrainian society is unbalanced, because people got used to living between war and peace. “Everybody is so tired and frustrated about everything that has happened to us.”, she says and sighs again.
THE PICTURES
“The world is blue as an orange” is Iryna Tsilyk's first documentary in feature length. Working so intense with the format of documentary was new for her, so she was happy to have such a great team at her side. “Cinema is always a common game. You are really dependent on the other people who are in your team and if you find really talented people its like you already have your big price.”, she says smiling. Iryna is very fond of her cinematographer Viacheslav Tsvietkov who managed to capture beautiful pictures who give the film its special atmosphere. Iryna realized early that he is a very talented person. “He really has that special ability to see beauty in the ordinary things of daily life. And to catch some special details that can say more than words. Like a passe-partout. You see a little detail but you realize that there is much more behind.” Especially documentary films need very good cinematographers, because they so often need to decide on their own what to shoot and what not. Its not like fiction, where the director controls everything. “Slavas pictures help to create the special atmosphere of the film and since we are talking about the art in our lives that was also important.”, Iryna says proudly.
THE FESTIVAL
During her work as a writer Iryna Tsilyk visited Berlin several times, but she had never been to Berlinale before. “I never thought about such big festivals as Berlinale and Sundance. It was such a big surprise. I'm so happy for my film and my team and especially for my protagonists. These people try to open the doors to the parallel world of normality trough cinema. And now cinema opens some doors for them.” Iryna Tsilyk's film touches the audience at this years Berlinale. “The world is blue as an orange” also opens doors for the cinema audience, giving insight into the life at the Ukrainian war zone and showing how surrealistic our reality is. Just like a blue orange.
THE FAMILY
Iryna Tsilyk and the family portrayed in film got to know each other trough the Ukrainian project yellow bus, where different professional filmmakers arrange cinema camps for teenagers in the war zone. The project gives kids the opportunity to write a script, shoot a film and to edit it afterwards. After producer Anna Kapustina introduced them to each other and Iryna Tsilyk got to know them, she fell in love with the family. “They are quite unique. She is a single mother with four kids and she does everything to fill their lives with joy. All the kids have different activities, they play music instruments, they have hobbies and when the girls brought the passion of cinema home, the mother even thought herself editing to support her children.”, tells Iryna Tsilyk with shining eyes. Through the process of making art the family is dealing with their own traumas of war. Living so close to the war zone is dangerous and it wasn't an easy decision for the mother Anna to stay in Krasnohoriwka with her children. “You try to be a normal family who drinks tea and talks about art, but at the same time the war is so close. Any moment, any night...”, Iryna sighs, “Its a matter of lottery living there.”
THE SUREALISTIC PLACE
Krasnohoriwka (Красногорівка) the city in which the family lives is located in the Donetsk region on the line of separation. It's one of the cities that is really destroyed by the war. “It almost looks like the death zone in Chernobyl, because so many people left their houses. Even the character of the sound is very different because its so empty and the grass is growing so high. It looks really weird and surreal. Also the houses are so shelled. So when you are there you realize, that the war is reality.”, Iryna tells. The film transports this feeling of surrealism she describes. Pictures of cats playing with trash or the moon shying behind a chimney symbolize the beauty of everyday life. But in the next moment the viewer is confronted with pictures of bullet holes and shelled buildings. “Some really contrasting things exist there so close to each other. It looked really surreal for me. This is also why we gave the film the title of a surrealistic poem.”, Iryna explains.
THE UKRAINIAN FILM
Besides others one of the main motivations for shooting “The earth is blue as an Orange” was to get rid of stereotypes Ukrainian people have about each other. Iryna confesses that she had them herself before visiting Donbass area. This is why she thinks that, besides presenting the film in different countries to remind the world about what is going on in Ukraine right now, it's also important to show the film in Ukraine. “We want to arrange screenings in different cities in Ukraine and especially in the war zone. Some of these people feel so lonely there. When I meet people like this family I think its so important to support them and to remind them, that they are not alone.”, is what Iryna tells. In general the Ukrainian society is unbalanced, because people got used to living between war and peace. “Everybody is so tired and frustrated about everything that has happened to us.”, she says and sighs again.
THE PICTURES
“The world is blue as an orange” is Iryna Tsilyk's first documentary in feature length. Working so intense with the format of documentary was new for her, so she was happy to have such a great team at her side. “Cinema is always a common game. You are really dependent on the other people who are in your team and if you find really talented people its like you already have your big price.”, she says smiling. Iryna is very fond of her cinematographer Viacheslav Tsvietkov who managed to capture beautiful pictures who give the film its special atmosphere. Iryna realized early that he is a very talented person. “He really has that special ability to see beauty in the ordinary things of daily life. And to catch some special details that can say more than words. Like a passe-partout. You see a little detail but you realize that there is much more behind.” Especially documentary films need very good cinematographers, because they so often need to decide on their own what to shoot and what not. Its not like fiction, where the director controls everything. “Slavas pictures help to create the special atmosphere of the film and since we are talking about the art in our lives that was also important.”, Iryna says proudly.
THE FESTIVAL
During her work as a writer Iryna Tsilyk visited Berlin several times, but she had never been to Berlinale before. “I never thought about such big festivals as Berlinale and Sundance. It was such a big surprise. I'm so happy for my film and my team and especially for my protagonists. These people try to open the doors to the parallel world of normality trough cinema. And now cinema opens some doors for them.” Iryna Tsilyk's film touches the audience at this years Berlinale. “The world is blue as an orange” also opens doors for the cinema audience, giving insight into the life at the Ukrainian war zone and showing how surrealistic our reality is. Just like a blue orange.
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