The Centre for Film and Ethics screened Iryna Tsilyk’s documentary The Earth is Blue as an Orange (2020). Exquisitely shot and bold in its approach, Tsilyk’s documentary follows single mother Anna and her four children as they document their lives under siege in Donbass, Ukraine. Questioning the power of cinema and the magical world it helps create during times of disaster, this exceptional documentary, winner of the World Cinema Documentary Award in Sundance, observes, with miraculous insight, a family—and a filmmaker—cope with war using their cameras, working in tandem to create meaning out of a meaningless conflict as the ultimate way to stay human.
The screening was followed by a panel discussion with Jeremy Hicks, Professor of Russian Culture and Film (Queen Mary, University of London) and Vicki Thornton, Senior Lecturer of Photojournalism and Documentary Photography (London College of Communication), who discussed the film in relation to the escalating events in Ukraine.
Attendees were able to make contributions to The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk. The Coalition responds to cases of persecution or threats to the personal safety or liberty of filmmakers at risk as a result of their work. ITCFR was seeking donations to its emergency fund, to assist with legal fees and temporary relocation expenses for filmmakers at risk in Ukraine.