Each year we try to find an image which would describe the state of our country and attitudes of its citizens. In 2013 we believed that Ukraine turned into a police state and for our poster we took a picture of a Berkut detachment that during the whole year were dispersing peaceful gatherings and protecting unlawful constructions. But we knew that they wouldn’t be able to overcome people who love their country. In order to soothe sorrow and fear while watching them, we made cardboard effigies out of Berkut, which were empty inside. During the Revolution of Dignity our poster was called prophetic.
Last year at the festival we spoke about Maidan. The poster represented a Molotov cocktail which at the same time was a burning heart, because our hearts were burning and aching after a slaughter of the Heavenly Hundred.
This year all Ukrainians’ attention has been focused on the war in the East which is called hybrid because it started long before shots – and first of all by means of media, by weapon of publicity. In the graphic image we combined two symbols of this war: we depicted a tank from the barrel of which a stream of light breaks out as if from a film projector. Because we know that cinema can be a more deadly weapon than a tank. Due to the fact that this type of weapon deals with content, which motivates people and moves them. It also deals with people’s mind and heart which makes people hate or love, create or destroy.
We believe that honest documentary films can defend from the aggression of propaganda. At the festival 2015 we are going to deal with these two matters – proraganda and the power of art.
This is how the slogan of this year festival came into being – Cinema defends!
While placing our posters at advertising media we learned it was unlawful to depict weapon in advertisement, even if it’s a toy. Advertising agencies asked us to remove the tank from the posters. We did so. The image turned out to be even more intriguing – publicity as an invisible tank.
Festival trailer
Art-director of Docudays UA, Roman Bondarchuk
