Skip to main content
Porcelain War film image; man dressed in army gear holding up a toy lizard

Porcelain War

This event has passed

Most of us, in Canada, cannot truly comprehend a scenario in which our country is invaded and civilians are compelled to take up arms in its defence. Yet for Ukrainians, this is the reality. In Porcelain War, three artists elect to stay and fight — with cameras, their talent, and, yes, with guns. At first, despite daily shelling, Anya finds resistance and purpose in ceramics, Andrey gets his young family to safety abroad, and Slava becomes a weapons instructor for ordinary people who have become unlikely soldiers. As the war intensifies, Andrey picks up his camera to film their story, and between skirmishes, Anya and Slava seek to capture their idyllic past, uncertain present, and hope for the future. Mixing intense conflict footage and moments of deliberation and intimacy, Porcelain War is a vivid reminder of perilous times.

Masterfully illustrates the enduring power of art in the face of adversity.

Awards Daily

Directors

Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev

Credits
Country of Origin

Ukraine/USA/Australia

Year

2024

Language

In Ukranian and Russian with English subtitles

Awards

Grand Jury Prize, Best Documentary, Sundance; Best Documentary, Seattle, Heartland, Sudbury, Ashland, Boulder Film Festivals

Nominated: Best Documentary Feature, Academy Awards

Content Warning

Violence, theme of war

19+
87 min

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits

Screenwriter

Aniela Sidorska, Brendan Bellomo, Paula DuPré Pesmen, Slava Leontyev

Cinematography

Andrey Stefanov

Editor

Brendan Bellomo, Kelly Cameron, Aniela Sidorska

Original Music

DakhaBrakha

Also Playing

The Life of Chuck

Dir. Mike Flanagan
111 min

The winner of the coveted Audience Award at TIFF last year, The Life of Chuck keeps us guessing about what it's up to and where it's going... Trust us, it's a keeper.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Graduate

Dir. Mike Nichols
106 min

In The Graduate Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman, 30 playing 20 with masterly understatement) comes home from college and is surprised to be seduced by the wife of his father's business partner, Mrs Robinson (Anne Bancroft).

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

blur: To the End

Dir. Toby L.
108 min

Now in their late 50s, Britpopsters blur (of Song 2 fame) do a celebratory lap of Great Britain culminating in their first ever Wembley Stadium show in this appealing observational doc. A companion piece to the concert film Live at Wembley Stadium.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Midnight Cowboy

Dir. John Schlesinger
113 min

Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman are street hustlers on different ends of the innocence / experience spectrum who establish something more than a business partnership in the seedy world of late 60s New York City in John Schlesinger's New Hollywood classic.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema