“How will you show the destroyed city?”

The Trofymchuks live in a small city in Donbas’ “Red Zone”, Ukraine, which since Russia’s invasion in 2014 has seen frequent shellings and the breakdown of infratructure. They plan to make a film showing their new daily life, and at the dinner table discuss how best to capture the destruction, uncertainty and despair that the war has brought. Just as important is the question of how to show the joys, resilience and community in their neighbourhood and in the family, even in the most dire of circumstances. What is the power of art in a world filled with horrors and absurdities?

In the documentary The Earth is Blue as an Orange (2020), filmmaker Iryna Tsilyk follows the Trofymchuks through one year of living on the frontline of the war, documenting their wish to tell the story of their city. This way, she also portrays the many thousands of families in Ukraine trying to keep hold of the brighter spots in an otherwise dark time.

Iryna Tsilyk is a Ukrainian critically acclaimed filmmaker, author, poet and translator. In over 15 years she has been writing and producing films about the effects of war on civilians, among other things, especially on women and families. The Earth is Blue as an Orange has won a host of awards for its direction and cinematography, which manages to bring the viewer close to the heart of this extraordinarily resilient family.

In conversation with Tsilyk is author Åsne Seierstad. She has written an array of documentary books that show the effects of war and conflict, by getting close to affected individuals, most recently in the critically acclaimed The Afghans. She meets Tsilyk for a conversation on family, Ukraine and the role of art in wartime.

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