Porcelain War

This 2024 documentary, co-directed by Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev, follows three Ukrainian artists who stayed in Kharkiv during Russia's full-scale invasion. Slava, Anya and Andrey choose to remain and fight rather than leave the country, with Slava also training soldiers. Meanwhile they continue making porcelain figures, and that work becomes a form of cultural resistance. The artists shot most of the footage themselves; the record of the war and the record of the workshop come from the same camera. The patterns Anya paints onto the porcelain are turned into animation and form the film's most distinctive formal element. It won the grand jury prize for US documentary at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for best documentary feature at the 97th Academy Awards. Who it's for: viewers interested in first-hand records of the war in Ukraine and in the relationship between art and resistance. Who it's not for: anyone avoiding combat footage and content about death, or expecting a neutral frame.