Friday, September 19, 21:00

Film night with Oleksandr Glyadyelov. “Glyadyelov. Focus on Infinity” (dir. K. Kravtsova, doc., 128 min., 2023)

Nida Culture and Tourism Information Centre “Agila”, Taikos St. 4

‘Glyadyelov. Focus on Infinity’ is a documentary saga about creativity and the inner world; philosophy and action; and the life and work of the renowned Ukrainian documentary photographer Oleksander Glyadyelov. But at its heart, it is a film about love, pain and the thirst for freedom, about Ukraine and Ukrainians.

The plot of the film is based on a psychological immersion in the subjects of Glyadyelov’s photographs. The image of the main character is exposed through communication with his friends, the subjects of his photos and, of course, observation of his life and work. Since Glyadyelov continues to work as he has always done, using black-and-white photography on film, our film is made using the same visual concept – a black and white palette.

Exhibitions of Oleksander Glyadyelov’s work have been hosted all over the world, as the photographer’s view of the war in Ukraine presents the most honest picture of these epochal events for the wider world.

“I saw the wars in Chechnya and Karabakh, Kyrgyzstan and Transnistria. I have been photographing the Russian-Ukrainian war since 2014. I was wounded twice. I have seen and know how Russia fights, Glyadyelov says. “I knew there would be a big war and that it would be extremely cruel, because Russia cannot act otherwise. All these years, I have tried to warn with my photos. To draw attention to this terrible danger. Now, since 24 February 2022, my photos have become my weapon. The world needs to know what is happening here.”

‘Glyadyelov. Focus on Infinity’ is a film about observing from the sidelines, about voyeurism. Travelling with the photographer from Kyiv and Bucha to Kharkiv, Odesa and Ilovaisk from the 1990s to 2022, witnessing a kaleidoscope from homeless street children to the terrifying wars unleashed by Russia, the viewer enters a conversation with the film’s characters, and the audience traces a path from the inevitability of current events to confidence in the triumph of good.

Director Ksenia Kravtsova is a Ukrainian film director and cultural figure. Born on 20 December 1980, she has two higher education degrees, as a film director and as a monumental artist. In addition to working in the cinema, she is the head of a charitable foundation that safeguards the legacy of Ukrainian artists Ada Rybachuk and Volodymyr Melnichenko.

Team

Starring: Oleksander Glyadyelov, Oleksii Moroz, Captain Andrii “Apis” Volodymyr Grekov, Andrii Slavutskii, Father Oleksander Chumakov, Jurgen Kreftner, Matvei Vaisberg, Viktoria Ivleva, Igor Prokofiev

Director: Ksenia Kravtsova

Director and scriptwriter: Inokentii Vyrovyi

DoP: Vladyslav Nechyporenko

Composer: Anton Baibakov

Editor: Dmytro Chaika

Sound designers: Oleksii Leliukh, Dmytro Moroz, Georgii Stremovskii

Producers: Inokentii Vyrovyi, Eric Holland, Justė Michailinaitė

Production companies: Real Stories Production, DIM Filmhouse, Broom Films

Trailer: