Film about Russian occupation of Chornobyl triumphs at Oberhausen film festival

Oleksii Radynskyi's documentary Chornobyl 22 has won the Grand Prize at the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival.

Source: Radynskyi on Telegram

Quote: "It would have been very nice if we hadn't had to make a film about the Russian occupation of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and if this story had remained in the realm of science fiction. But we did, and it won the top prize at the Oberhausen Film Festival."

Details: The film Chornobyl 22 shows the consequences of the Russian occupation of the territories adjacent to the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in February 2022. Radynskyi's documentary consists of footage shot on a mobile phone and eyewitness accounts.

Quote: "While working on the film Chornobyl 22, we conducted over 20 in-depth interviews with witnesses of Russian war crimes in the [Exclusion] Zone. These people are all very different: from nuclear plant workers to environmentalists and self-settlers [people who returned to their homes in the Exclusion Zone after being evacuated – ed.]. Their comments are united by one observation: the Russians found themselves in the Chornobyl zone without any idea of where they were really going."

A frame from the film "Chernobyl 22"

More details: Upon learning he had won the award, Radynskyi wrote a post of gratitude in which he thanked histeam and the people featured in the film: "To [Chornobyl NPP] workers Vitalii Popov, Liudmyla Kozak, Petro Nazarenko, Vitalii Semenov, Serhii Dediukhin, Oleksii Shelestii and Valentyn Heiko. Thanks to people like you, the Russians failed in Chornobyl, and nothing will work out for them anywhere in Ukraine."

The jury at the Oberhausen Film Festival praised the way the director conveys the tension in his portrayal of the Russian invasion and builds bridges between the stories and possible futures without overt aestheticization. "The honest and candid interviews in the film make it an important work for today, but also for future generations to look back to," jury members said.

A frame from the film "Chernobyl 22"

Today, on 2 May, the film is available to watch online on the film festival website until 23:00.

The Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, held since 1954 in the German city of Oberhausen, is the oldest short film festival in the world. This year, its prize fund totals 43,000 euros, which is divided between 20 awards.

Maria Kabatsii, Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia

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