The film follows Ukrainian artist Fedor Alexandrovich's investigation into the Chornobyl disaster and its possible connection to a Soviet Cold War-era structure, the Duga over-the-horizon radio antenna bridging a personal story, Soviet era events and the recent blast in Russia-Ukraine’s relations.
This April marks the 34
th
anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear catastrophe. As the movie conveys, there are many ways Chornobyl has impacted political events since then.
While the film is five years old, can we find parallels and lesson to current day events? Do governments today downplay serious health concerns? Are the tools of disinformation and propaganda any less effective today than during the Chornobyl disaster period? What has the Russian government learned from Chornobyl that it employs in its strategic geopolitical actions today?
The film was highly rated by many leading critics:
"Surprisingly inventive, even buoyant in its presentation of several issues that could scarcely be more sobering" (Dennis Harvey,
Variety
).
"Example of the ease with which conspiracy vitiates meaningful debate about Chornobyl” (Serhii Plokhiy, author of
Chornobyl: History of a Tragedy
).
“Given the film's narrative encompasses the death of thousands of people at various points in Ukrainian history, and most recently hundreds in the recent conflict [...] Gracia finds the humor in many of the situations, and has properly Slavic feel for the absurd. Bouncy animation and fish-eye lens are frequently deployed to create a stylized sense of playfulness which only enhances the film's many compelling qualities” (Leslie Felperin,
The Hollywood Reporter
).
The screening will commence on
Friday, April 24, 2020 at noon (EST, 19:00 Kyiv time
) and be followed by discussion at 1:30 pm (EST or 20:30 Kyiv time). The link to
registration
is
here.
More information about the film can be found
here.
