The Hopkins Bloomberg Center will offer a free screening of the Academy Award-nominated Ukraine War documentary “Porcelain War” on Monday, March 31.
Doors opens at 5:30 p.m. for this second installation in the Johns Hopkins University’s Stories That Matter film series. Registration is required for those wishing to attend.
“Porcelain War,” directed by Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev, tells the story of the Ukrainian resistance to Russian aggression through the eyes of artists pressed into combat as civilian soldiers in the now three-year war with Russia. The directors, along with producer Paula DuPré Pesmen (Oscar winner for The Cove), will join in a panel discussion following the March 31 screening.
Accolades continue to mount for “Porcelain War,” which has garnered winning recognition from the Directors Guild of America and nominations for the Producers Guild of America and the American Society of Cinematographers. The documentary was the winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and the DuPont-Columbia Award, among others, and is a nominee for the Cinema for Peace Award as the most valuable documentary of the year.
“What is the purpose of art and of artists amidst the devastation of war? And what becomes of the artist when he must transform into a soldier to defend his country’s culture and very existence? These are the fascinating questions set amidst the harrowing battlefield scenes and enchanting animated whimsy in ‘Porcelain War’,” said JHU MA in Film and Media Program Director Sig Libowitz. “The movie entangles and entrances us between two worlds – one of surprising artistic creativity and the other of citizen-soldiers battling against overwhelming odds. This movie speaks to the heart of the Stories that Matter series and the types of important international stories we want to bring to Johns Hopkins, our students and faculty, and the wider D.C. community.”
The series is a collaboration between the JHU MA in Film and Media program and the prestigious Cinetecca di Bologna. It launched with the mission of presenting cinema at the intersection of art, scientific discovery, urgent social issues, and international affairs. Stories That Matter seeks to spark dialogue among filmmakers, scholars, students, government officials, policy stakeholders, and citizens. Selected films in the series also will be presented at Johns Hopkins campuses in Baltimore, Maryland, and in Bologna, Italy.