TVE, TV-3 and the ARTE channel premiere these days several works on the Russian invasion that can be seen in the open
This Friday, February 24, marks one year of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, which would unleash a war which is on its way to lengthening. During these 12 months, various audiovisual works have tried to explain the details of the war, but the offer is multiplying these days. At the Berlinale, for example, the actor and director Sean Penn just filed out of competition’Superpower’, a tribute to the ukrainian resistance and the president Volodymyr Zelenskyand Matt Damon has announced that he plans to shoot an ambitious project about the conflict. Ana Pastor He is also in kyiv this Wednesday to do ‘El objetivo’ for La Sexta.
Coinciding with the year of the beginning of the war escalation, this week we have available various free premieres that dissect the war in Ukraine from different fronts. Most are character documentary film, but there is also a fictional miniseries with many shades of reality. The protagonist of it is a mother who is looking for her son, a prisoner in the Donbas.
Mom (Arte.tv)
Although the vast majority of audiovisual works on the war in Ukraine have opted for the documentary format, we can also find fiction. The free European cultural streaming platform includes in its catalog the four episode miniseries ‘Mom’ which, although it was shot in 2021, reflects very well what thousands of mothers affected by the war could be experiencing today. On her birthday, Nina, a nurse in a Ukrainian hospital, learns that her son Vital, a volunteer at the front to defend her country, has fallen. prisoner in Donbas. He will not hesitate to undertake a dangerous journey to find it. Available here.
The lost children of Ukraine (Saturday 25. TVE-1. 10:00 p.m., in ‘Weekly Report’)
Documentary from the EBU Investigative Journalism Network, focused on the ‘disappearance’ of Ukrainian children from war-torn territories that have been brought to Russia to be welcomed into families or state institutions. Temporary guardianship quickly led to the passage in Russia of a presidential law that facilitates quick citizenship and therefore immediate permanent adoption by Russian families. Governments around the world, NGOs and the UN have condemned this practice. Some sources speak of at least 13,000 minors transferred. A total of 126 have been returned to Ukraine, but only when a family member has been able to locate them and has mustered the courage and resources to demand the delivery of the child.
Ukraine, travel to the other fronts (TV3alacarta)
Journalist Luis Caelles and the camera David Bou They take a tour of Ukraine away from war strategies and geopolitics, focusing on the real victims: the population. The work shows its stories of resilience and rebellion and how citizens have become ‘civilian soldiers’, using their own ‘weapons’ to deal with the invaders. Like the medical team at the Tropinka hospital in Kherson, who invented a covid outbreak so that the Russians would not turn it into a military center; or the teachers who refused to teach Russian under the new syllabus of the occupiers; or the networks of spy grandmothers, who took down the names of enemy soldiers, tanks, vehicles and locations to pass them on to Ukrainian soldiers. Available here.
Spring in Mariúpol (Thursday 23. The 2, 0.00 hours, in ‘Documents TV’)
Documentary in which the Italian journalist Maurizio Vezzosi gives voice to the desperate testimonies of the inhabitants of the city of Mariupol, one of the most affected by the war. Until February 2022, it was the largest steel center in the donbas region and remained under Ukrainian control since the 2014 war. Mariupol’s economic and commercial importance due to its port area and its large steel factory, Azovstal, made it a key player for Russia. It includes heartbreaking testimonies from a population that resisted the 56 days of siege to which they were subjected by the Russians.
Ukraine: War diary of a pediatrician (Arte.tv)
German documentary that delves into the daily life of Dr. Vira Primakova, an anesthetist who runs the intensive care unit at the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospitalin Lviv. While her husband fights on the front lines like millions of other Ukrainian men, she wages her own war in the emergency beds, where she treats daily patients under 18 years of age for injuries caused by mines and landslides. In recent times, the doctor has seen how her functions have expanded, also acting almost as a therapist. She not only has to provide medical care, but also psychological care, since she must deal with the traumas of the injured and even medical personnel. Available here.
Zelenski’s story (Thursday 23. The 2, 11:00 p.m.)
When Sean Penn presented his documentary ‘Superpower’ these days at the Berlinale, he confessed his fascination with the president Volodymyr Zelensky. “Apart from the birth of my children, that meeting [con Zelenski] it was one of the great moments of my life”, highlighted the actor and director. Because the Ukrainian president has undoubtedly become one of the great figures of the war. The documentary ‘The story of Zelensky’ puts the spotlight on in his story, that of a comedian who first rose to stardom with the television series ‘servant of the people’ (where paradoxically his character, a high school teacher, reached the Ukrainian presidency) and that, in 2019, he was elected Prime Minister to the surprise of many and erected as a hero of the country’s resistance. ‘Time’ magazine also chose him as Man of the Year in 2022.
The duel: Zelenski against Putin (Arte.tv)
German documentary that dissects the two presidents facing each other over the Ukraine war, Zelensky and Putin. The work explores the Russian propaganda that justified the start of the war (“The objective is to protect those who suffer harassment and genocide by the Kiev regime”, the Russian president is heard saying) and how each of them has evolved during this last year. Includes testimonials from diplomats, political scientists, military strategists and journalists British, German, Ukrainian and Russian. Available here.
TRACKS EAST. TOMORROW: VISIONS FOR UKRAINE (Arte.tv)
Olga Osinnya, a young Ukrainian exiled in Berlin because of the outbreak of the war, returns to her native country to narrate how her fellow citizens look for ingenious ideas to recover from the ravages of the war. Like Ivan, a computer scientist who uses e-cigarette batteries to make power kits, or Anton, a young entrepreneur who decided to open a cafe in the center of kyiv during wartime. She also shows how the future is seen by members of the LGTBI community who fled their country. Because Ukrainians are optimistic: 88% are convinced that in 10 years they will join the European Union and enjoy prosperity. Furthermore, many Ukrainian artists, singers, inventors and businessmen believe that their country should not be reduced to the role of a victim. Available here.
