Nominated for 2025 Best Documentary, Porcelain War, is not about the art of war but a triumph of art over war, a testament to the power of creativity and community in the face of unimaginable adversity. Co-directed by Slava Leontyev, an artist-turned-soldier, and Brendan Bellomo, the film captures the lives of ordinary Ukrainians—artists, teachers, farmers, and IT professionals—who have taken up arms not only to defend their homeland but also to preserve their artistic and cultural legacy in the face of Russia’s relentless invasion bent on its “erasure”.
As of 16 October 2024, UNESCO has verified the damage or destruction of 438 cultural sites including 32 museums (including the Skovoroda Home), 33 monuments, 17 libraries and the looting of 500 Ukrainian cultural heritage sites. The damage also extends to Ukrainian artists like Volodymyr Vakulenko who was abducted by soldiers and later found dead. His diary which the soldiers were after was unearthed by the Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina of Truth Hounds who documented Russian atrocities and then fell victim to one herself. The cultural war seeks to not only weaken the Ukrainian population’s morale and sense of nationhood; but advances Russia’s broader narrative that Ukraine is not a distinct nation but part of a “Greater Russia.” So in Ukraine, art and culture serve as powerful weapons of resistance, while also providing a means to heal the spirit and the soul of a people.
At the core of Porcelain War we get a close up view of the beauty of the profound relationship and creative synergy between co-director Slava Leontyev, an artist-turned-special-forces soldier and his wife Anya, as they create, cast and paint their enchanting Porcelain figures. Seamlessly interwoven with their artistry are strikingly beautiful scenes of nature which surround and inspire them; a forgotten casualty of this conflict. Slava who for years paired with ceramic artist and painter Anya Stasenko explains, “we decided it will not be a story about destruction or all these disgusting and terrible things from the news. Anya explained to me that “All war, all ruins look the same, but most important is the beauty and joy of the amazing people who can be killed any moment.” “And so we filmed it all; every flower, guy or girl, every building, as if this was the last second of their existence.”
There are no spare parts or people in this war. For Slava to direct someone had to take his place in his special forces unit dubbed “Saigon”. Among his trainees it is Katya, an IT analyst, who picks up Slava’s rifle so he can pick up his camera. “Literally,” Slava shares, “this teeny Katya fought instead of me, creating the opportunity for me to make this film.” In one of the most harrowing moments Katya races into a building during a bombing, carrying a medical kit to assist a fallen comrade during an attack. We see and feel her anxiety and hear her fighting for control with the words, “It’s ok. I’ll do my best.”
The film grew out of a combined effort and shared ideals communicated over a distance of 6,000 miles between Slava and Anya in Ukraine and Co-director Brendan Bellomo and his writer-producer wife Aniela Sidorska in Los Angeles. It was Aniela and Brendan who convinced Slava, an accomplished amateur photographer, tired of photographing the devastation around him, that there was an important story to be told. “Brendan and Aniela convinced me that if we succeeded in making this film, my work could save more lives than I could save as a soldier, Slava said.”
Co-director Brendan Bellomo, not only designed the production but “We were fortunate to connect with volunteers in the United States, Ukrainian people that had left their day jobs to transport all sorts of supportive goods into Ukraine through Poland. Logistically, it was very difficult and very dangerous. But we were able to get them everything they needed with the help of people who risked their lives to do it.”
It was Ukrainian artist Andrey Stefanov’s first feature as director of photography. Andrey, a recognized oil painter, joined Slava in exploring film cameras in 2022 during the invasion, as a new medium to express their artistic perspectives. One of the most moving scenes in Porcelain War involves Andrey sending his daughters to safety in Poland with a promise to reunite soon, a promise he knew he could not keep. Slava, “Ukrainians now have no time to study how to fight. We just start to fight. We have no time, Andrey and me, to study how to film. Brendan taught us on Zoom. And we just start to film. (Laughing) And because of Paula ( DuPré Pesmen writer ) we learn English so we could communicate better.” Brendan, adjunct Professor at prestigious NYU Tisch School expanded on the process, “I could hold something and I could say Slava, Andre here is how you can take your incredible artistic instincts with composition or storytelling that you’re already doing as a sculptor and a painter and use the camera to do the same thing.”
Brendan pointed out. “At the beginning, we felt. We didn’t share, you know, the same spoken language, but we realized instantly we were fluent in visual art. And so we actually communicated during the editing and filming process by drawing. We shared drawings, and we shared photographs, and paintings, and storyboards, and so this was a totally fluent language for Slava and I, and Andrey, our cinematographer.”
Anya’s intricate paintings spring to life in animations created by BluBlu Studios in Poland. Unique and special rivaling the work of world class animation studios,these 3 segments immerse you in their life stories the artists embed in their work. “We took 20 years of our work, sent it to BluBlu and they made 7,000 handmade little pictures. During one of our zoom meetings they said, “now we show you the first animation and I see how my little snail without shell, with this little pet on the leash acted absolutely bravely and heroically,” Slava explained.
Brendan explained why what happens a world away impacts us all. “This affects all of us, because freedom and democracy matters to everybody, and sharing stories that are about our ability, even when it seems like there’s no hope, in the darkest of times, we have the ability to put good back into the world. And to share what we’re capable of as people.”
One image that will always stay with me is Slava’s tiny, brave little dog fearlessly chasing Russian helicopters. Somehow, not traumatized like my rescue dog Gandalf by loud sounds. Slava said,”We are very connected in Ukraine to Kharkiv Animal Rescue. Brendan continued, “It’s amazing, heroic people who rescue dogs and cats and other animals under shelling. It’s so risky and so difficult work and they rescue thousands of dogs.”
Humans, animals and cultures are all casualties of war. I can tell you having worked at the V.A. that the casualties of all wars continue for years, sometimes lifetimes after the conflict is over. When all wars end, so will the damage.
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