MILITANTROPOS

documentary feature film / 110' / Ukraine, France, Austria

MILITANTROPOS (lat. «milit» - soldier; gr. «ἄνθρωπος» - human) - persona, obtained by humans when entering the state of war. The chaos wrought by hostilities tears apart not only the material world but also the self-integrity of humans. MILITANTROPOS chooses to accept the war as one and only option in order to continue to exist. This extreme experience forces the ongoing transformation of individuals and society. MILITANTROPOS faces death as a possibility of their own Non-existence and has to regain self- integrity to consider ordering the being.

 “MILITANTROPOS” is going to focus on humans, their reaction to hostilities, atrocities and destruction, transformation of their everyday lives, public interaction and spaces they live in, cities and villages. Those who flee, who lose their homes and belongings, those who stay, take up arms and learn to fight. How do all of them adjust to this change and destruction and when does this adjustment become the resistance. Humans as a species adapt to war and it starts to be a part of their everyday life.

The film is being filmed in an observational way follows the scenes and consequences of war, and how war changes humans individually and collectively. Absence of the main protagonists equalizes individual and common experiences, underlining their connections. In this way the nature of war is presented as a process and is explored part by part, defining the position and the role of humans in it.

The narrative perspective moves from the general to the personal scale, visually coming closer and closer to people's faces.

“MILITANTROPOS” is exploring the nature of war through the people  who lives through it. This film is both a testament to the times and a study of a human who is ready to fight for his right to live on his native land.

Director: Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova, Simon Mozhovyi

Alina Gorlova - film director, co-founder of Tabor LTD. Her documentary, NO OBVIOUS SIGNS, won the MDR film award for best Eastern European film at DokLeipzig. Her latest documentary, THIS RAIN WILL NEVER STOP, won the award for Best First Appearance at IDFA, the Best Feature award at Festival dei Popoli, Beldocs, etc

Yelizaveta Smith - film director, co-founder of Tabor LTD. Her documentary, SCHOOL NUMBER 3, co-directed by George Genoux, won the Grand Prix of the Generation 14plus International Jury Berlinale 2017, and a Special Award at HumanDOC Festival in Warsaw. She is a member of the Ukrainian Film Academy and European Film Academy.

Simon Mozgovyi - film director. His documentary The Winter Garden’s Tale (2018) premiered at Ji.hlava IDFF, participated in DOK Leipzig, Full Frame, Docudays UA, etc. His filmography includes the documentaries Salt from Bonneville (2021), and Orpheus Is Standing On The Bank Of The Styx (short, 2022), Chrysanthemum Day (2024, in progress).

Creative team:

• Scriptwriters: Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova, Simon Mozgovyi, Maksym Nakonechnyi,

• DOPs: Viacheslav Tsvietkov, Khrystyna Lizogub, Denys Melnyk,

• Producer: Eugene Rachkovsky,

• Co-producers: Ralph Wieser, Nabil Bellahsene

Selected festivals:

• Berlinale Talents – Talent Lab, Doc Station 2023

• VdR-Industry – Visions du Réel (Visions Sud Est – VSE Award) 2023

• IDFA Forum – "Rough Cut" Presentation (Special Mention) 2023

• Cannes Docs Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes as part of the European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Films: ESFUF 2024