You're reading: Hit documentary about war-torn Donbas awarded by International Documentary Association

For its portrayal of a family living at the frontline of Russia’s war, Ukrainian documentary “The Earth Is Blue As an Orange” took the best cinematography prize from the International Documentary Association.

The award, honoring the work of cinematographer Vyacheslav Tsvetkov, is the film’s 20th accolade.

“Tsvetkov’s camera work is surely one of the strongest trump cards of our movie,” the film’s director Iryna Tsilyk told the Kyiv Post. “This cinematographer has a unique outlook on the world, he sees beauty where it is often not obvious,” she added.

The IDC, based in Los Angeles, California, presented the awards during its 36th annual ceremony, held online on Jan. 16.

The prestigious prize is another badge of honor for the film that brings the war in Donbas to the big screen and has been praised both at home and abroad.

Following its fall cinematic release, the documentary can be streamed on the Oll.tv service in Russian with English subtitles for as little as Hr 49, or nearly $2.

Tsvetkov was among the 26 cinematographers that worked on “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom,” a Netflix original documentary about the country’s 2013-2014 Euromaidan Revolution that ousted ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. The picture was nominated for the 88th Academy Awards, also known as Oscars.

In a Jan. 17 Facebook post, Tsvetkov called the IDC prize a great honor and thanked the film’s crew for their work.

“Making a great documentary film takes a lot of coincidence and a lot of luck,” Tsvetkov said. “I am sincerely grateful and glad that we have such high awards for our work and creativity.”

“The Earth Is Blue As an Orange” portrays the absurdity of civilian life near the front line, where the presence of bomb blasts has long become a new normal for the locals.

The film shows the daily life of a single mother and her four children who live in a small city in the Donbas region, which has been severely damaged by shelling. Despite the never-ending hostilities, they stay positive and make an amateur film of their own.

“I wanted to understand, at least a little bit, what it’s like to be a regular civilian that lives in a ‘red’ war zone,” Tsilyk said. “And not just lives and survives there, but fills their life and the lives of their children with joy.”

For her vision, Tsilyk won best director at the World Cinema section of the U.S. Sundance Film Festival, where the documentary premiered in January 2020.

It was a first for Ukraine. No Ukrainian films have ever been shown at Sundance before.

The film was co-produced by Ukraine and Lithuania. The Ukrainian State Film Agency provided Hr 2.7 million, covering nearly 50% of the budget.

Since its premiere, “The Earth Is Blue As an Orange” has been screened at more than 70 international film festivals.

It made the Ukrainian debut at the DocuDays UA festival in April 2020, winning two main prizes in both the international and national sections. Ukraine’s Kinokolo film critics named it best documentary of the year.

“I think our film has something life-affirming, and maybe that’s why it got such a great response from all over the world,” the director said. “We all need more light these days.”