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EXCLUSIVE: Three years ago today, Russia launched its hellish full-scale invasion of Ukraine, an unprovoked assault that has killed and injured more than 40,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the UN.
As the war enters its fourth year, there is news about the Oscar-nominated documentary Porcelain War, which tells of the resistance to Russian aggression by artists and civilian soldiers. The film directed by Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev has been selected to screen on March 31 as part of the Stories That Matter series at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, DC.
The series, created in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Graduate Film and Media program and the Cineteca Di Bologna, will welcome the directors and producer Paula DuPré Pesmen for the screening followed by a conversation with Johns Hopkins experts.
“Porcelain War embodies the mission of the Stories That Matter series by highlighting the important role of artistic expression in fostering public dialogue around challenging issues,” commented Cybele Bjorklund, executive director of the Hopkins Bloomberg Center. “We invite policymakers, members of the media, students, and the community to experience the film and engage in our thought-provoking, post-screening program.”
Sig Libowitz, director of the Graduate Film and Media program, said in a statement, “Porcelain War confronts us unexpectedly with imagery, imagination, and a range of emotions as we consider our humanity and the purpose of art within the landscape of war. This is a story of artists who become soldiers and defenders of their nation’s culture and heritage. The film’s spirit is at the core of Stories that Matter.”
Porcelain War won the DGA Award earlier this month, the latest in a long list of honors that includes the duPont-Columbia University Award, the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary at Sundance, awards at the Seattle International Film Festival, Heartland International Film Festival, Stockhold Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, two awards at the Woodstock Film Festival in New York and four awards at the Woods Hole Film Festival in Massachusetts.
Porcelain War is a Songbird Studios Production, in association with Imaginary Lane, Bob’s Your Uncle, Far Star Media, Sobrato Philanthropies, and Cayton Goldrich Family Foundation. The film is produced by Paula DuPré Pesmen (Oscar-winner The Cove), Aniela Sidorska, Camilla Mazzaferro, and Olivia Ahnemann.
The Stories That Matter series, which presents narrative features, documentaries and short films, kicked off last Friday with a screening of the Oscar-shortlisted documentary Daughters. A release notes, “The series provides filmmakers from the U.S. and around the world the opportunity to present international cinema to D.C. audiences, including stakeholders in the U.S. government, the international diplomatic community, and Johns Hopkins students and alumni, at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center, situated at the epicenter of the U.S. capital, with sweeping views of the Capitol building and the National Gallery of Art.”
Some of the films in the series will also be presented at Johns Hopkins campuses in Baltimore, Maryland, and in Bologna, Italy.
