‘Porcelain War’ directors Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev on their inspiring story of art and resistance in Ukraine
For Porcelain War directors Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev, their Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature is more than just validation of their work — it’s a testament to the courage of everyone involved, especially given the incredible risks they took to share their stories.
Amid the chaos and destruction of the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine, three artists defiantly find inspiration and beauty as they defend their culture and their country. In a war waged by professional soldiers against ordinary civilians, Leontyev, Anya Stasenko and Andrey Stefanov choose to stay behind, armed with their art, their cameras and, for the first time in their lives, their guns.
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Bellomo and Leontyev recently took home the Directors Guild of America Award for documentary filmmaking — and Porcelain War was also recognized with nominations from the Producers Guild of America and the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). “It’s really special to receive recognition from our peers, from people who are creatives,” Bellomo tells Gold Derby (watch the video interview above). “I share this for Andrey Stefanov, who’s our cinematographer. He is an oil painter by trade. He’s never used the camera before. It’s not just his first film. This is the first footage he’s shot, and he’s nominated for the ASC award. So, for him, it is a personal triumph to, within a war zone, learn a new medium and translate his instincts as an artist into cinema.”
Leontyev not only serves as a director on the film, but is also one of the personal subjects of the documentary. “I was serving in the Ukrainian army when we filmed Porcelain War,” he says. “I was able to work on Porcelain War only because my unit completely supported us. They trusted us. And when I would pick up my camera, someone would pick up a rifle in my place. It’s a special kind of responsibility, and I’m so happy I had this opportunity to not only share our personal experience as artists, but these regular, civilian, peaceful people who came to the army to defend their independence and to protect their culture and identity.”
(PHOTO: COURTESY OF PICTUREHOUSE)
The origins of Porcelain War trace back to before the conflict, rooted in a mutual appreciation for art. Bellomo reminisced about how the project began: “One of our producers grew up under Russian oppression in communist Poland. About eight years ago, she discovered Anya and Slava’s work, and she was so moved by their figurines because they reminded her of home. She shared them with me, and I was blown away. I couldn’t believe that something so small could contain such huge stories. And the four of us actually began to work together on an animation project.”
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Bellomo called Leontyev and Stasenko to see if they were safe and to find out when they were leaving. Bellomo recounts, “Slava said, ‘Oh, we’re going to stay. We’re going to keep making our art at night.’ I said, ‘What are you doing during the day?’ And he told me, ‘I’m in the Ukrainian Special Forces, and I’m teaching civilians, everyday people, peaceful people, how to use weapons.'”
Bellomo wanted to empower the artists to tell their stories, sending cameras to Ukraine via a network of volunteers. Despite being 6,000 miles apart and facing language barriers, Bellomo and his team of producers set up an impromptu film school over Zoom. “Andrey knows where to put his canvas, and so he knew where to put the camera,” Bellomo explains. “We had a deep collaboration, and what they learned to capture became Porcelain War. It’s really a story through their eyes and in their voice.”
Unique artistic methods, particularly the integration of animation, played a crucial role in expanding the narrative’s dimensions, as Bellomo explains: “A lot of times, in documentary, you’ll hear people say, ‘Oh, we want to do an animation scene,’ but that’s just adding something on. Their language, the way they make sense of the world around them is through painting. Anya and Slava created these three figurines that could be a time machine for the camera. They bring us into their peaceful past in Crimea. They look at the first days of the war without us needing to show news footage because that just creates a distancing. This is a personal testimonial.”
(PHOTO: COURTESY OF PICTUREHOUSE)
“Animation gave us amazing opportunity,” Leontyev adds. “We have a language to tell about the terrors of war without showing them like the news does. News gets old quickly. It’s a little bit senseless to film extra news footage. But animation gave us this language and also this amazing opportunity to show our past and make visual our dreams for the future. And for Anya, it was also a completely new experience [to show] her artistic language and bring new stories.”
As the Oscars approach on March 2, both directors are focused on the broader impact of their work. Bellomo states, “For us, it comes down to only one thing — this story is something that people must witness. It gives you an opportunity to see something that you don’t see in the news. It gives you an opportunity to recognize that the notion of a foreign conflict is a misnomer. This affects all of us. And the most amazing part of it is that they’re choosing hope. They’re choosing creativity. They’re choosing to affirm their identity, their culture. It’s a very inspiring story.”
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