BERLIN: Ukrainian medical volunteers weave through a forest on the eastern front of the war with Russia, trying to treat maimed soldiers as enemy shells rain down.
In the scene from the documentary "Eastern Front," the paramedics carry stretchers bearing screaming troops into an ambulance, before hurtling along cratered roads en route to the nearest medical unit.
"I think people usually get some romantic ideas about war from the books, from movies," Yevhen Titarenko, a Ukrainian filmmaker who co-directed the film, told Reuters. "Everyone must now see this war with their own eyes to understand."
The film premieres at the Berlin Film Festival on Friday, the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, celebrating the resilience of the Ukrainian people while providing a grisly portrait of the devastation of war.
Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, casting the war as a "special military operation" to protect Russia's own security.
Titarenko, who has served in a medical volunteer battalion for the past year, shot some of the scenes from his first-person perspective near cities including Kharkiv and Kherson.
Lviv-born filmmaker Vitaly Mansky co-directed the film with Titarenko, providing additional scenes recorded in Western Ukraine.
"The message is not to give anybody the chance to think they can hide from this war," Mansky said. "This war is an absolute reality."
The two directors counterpose images of destruction - the charred remains of an apartment block, a herd of cows sinking in a field destroyed by bombing - with everyday scenes of companionship and love.
The film includes rough-hewn war footage recorded with handheld devices alongside panoramas of rolling fields basking in the rays of dawn or submerged in fog.
"I wanted to show that the war is not a natural state for the heroes," Mansky said. "Their natural state is peace, family comfort, their parents' homes, the Carpathian Mountains."
In the film, medics chat and joke by a lake filled with swimmers on a sunny day. One of their sons is baptised in a church amid plumes of incense and the sounds of Orthodox chant.
Titarenko said that after presenting the film at the festival he would return to the frontline.
"I am a paramedic and I just shoot what I see," he said. "The most practical advice is to try and avoid getting wounded and stay alive."
Reuters
Sat Feb 25 2023
Directors Vitaly Mansky and Yehven Titarenko speak about the movie 'Eastern Front' during a Reuters interview during the 73rd Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, February 22, 2023. - REUTERS
Pemain ragbi meninggal dunia selepas perlawanan pasukan pilihan MB Kedah
Seorang bekas pemain Sukma Kedah meninggal dunia selepas menyertai perlawanan pertunjukan pasukan pilihan Menteri Besar Kedah pada Ahad.
OCC: Masih banyak usaha perlu dibuat dalam isu hak kanak-kanak
Masih banyak yang perlu dilakukan kerana Malaysia masih ketinggalan berbanding negara lain dalam menangani isu penderaan dan masalah sosial melibatkan kanak-kanak.
iPad Pro mungkin dijana dengan cip Apple M4 terbaharu, fokus ciri AI
Cip Apple M4 dijangka memfokuskan kepada keupayaan enjin neural yang disertakan bersama dengannya membolehkan ia menawarkan ciri AI yang lebih baik.
Lebih 840,000 permohonan untuk London Marathon 2025 pecah rekod dunia
Jumlah permohonan untuk menyertai larian TCS London Marathon tahun depan telah memecahkan rekod dunia.
WEF: Anwar jumpa 50 pemimpin industri & perniagaan, yakin pelabur bernilai tinggi pilih Malaysia
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menzahirkan keyakinan lebih banyak pelabur bernilai tinggi akan memilih Malaysia sebagai destinasi pelaburan mengikut jejak langkah syarikat-syarikat gergasi seperti Tesla, AWS, Infineon dan Nvidia.
AWANI Ringkas: Ikut jejak syarikat gergasi lain
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Bursa Malaysia dibuka tinggi seiring prestasi Wall Street
Bursa Malaysia dibuka rendah pada Isnin, mengambil petunjuk pasaran serantau dan kenaikan di Wall Street pada hari Jumaat.
Kementerian Perpaduan kaji keperluan pelan tindakan pendidikan & penghargaan Rukun Negara
Kementerian Perpaduan Negara melalui Jabatan Perpaduan dan Integrasi Nasional akan mengkaji keperluan untuk melancarkan Pelan Tindakan Pendidikan & Penghargaan Rukun Negara sejajar dengan Dasar Perpaduan Negara 2021-2030.
Akta pekerjaan bagi lindungi pekerja OKU/Autistik diperlukan
Beatrice yang juga merupakan individu autistik berkata, bagi mengadakan akta atau menggubal dasar berkaitan, kerajaan perlu libatkan lebih banyak golongan autistik sebagai pemegang taruh utama.
Mesyuarat FOMC: The Fed dijangka kekalkan kadar faedah Mei 2024
Ketua Ekonomi Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid berkata, ia selepas unjuran awal beberapa pakar ekonomi melihat The Fed masih belum cukup yakin dengan usaha menurunkan kadar inflasi di negara itu.