Porcelain War (Ukraine, United States, 2024) documentary, 87 min, en subtitles. Directed by Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev, written by Aniela Sidorska, Brendan Bellomo, Paula Dupre' Pesmen, Slava Leontyev.

Slava and Anya are artists from Kharkiv: Slava makes porcelain figurines and his wife Anya paints them. Then comes the Russian invasion, and they decide to stay and fight. Slava is a good shot, so now his day job is to teach firearms to uninitiated civilians. Anya continues to make delicate colourful porcelain art amidst the ongoing bombardments.

Using war footage shot by one of its protagonists, as well as playful sequences of animated illustrations, this unconventional and delightful documentary depicts not only the ongoing destruction, but more importantly, the everyday lives of "ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances". The result is nothing less than a powerful metaphor of the resilience of the human spirit and the vitality of creative life.

The film won the prestigious Grand Jury Prize for Best U.S. Documentary at this year’s Sundance FF and has collected many other awards worldwide.