The Earth is Blue as an Orange 2020
Distributed by Film Movement
Produced by Anna Kapustina and Giedrė Žickytė
Directed by Iryna Tsilyk
Streaming, 73 mins
Middle School - General Adult
Russia; Ukraine; War
Date Entered: 08/01/2022
Reviewed by Kara Van Abel, Reference Librarian & Liaison to the Collat School of Business, University of Alabama at BirminghamThe compelling documentary film, The Earth is Blue as an Orange, follows one family as they navigate life in a city on the front lines of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Filmed before the escalation of the conflict in 2022, it depicts a city already deeply enmeshed in conflict and fraught with nighttime shellings. The family’s matriarch, Hanna, and her children are filmed as they go about their day-to-day activities. Footage of their lives and interviews are interspersed with shots of a devastated city. Hanna tells us that she kept her children with her in the city during the conflict because she wants them to be there to help rebuild when it ends. Despite the hardship and trauma brought on by war, it is clear the family remains filled with hope.
There will be renewed interest in this story with the intensification of the conflict by Russian forces in Ukraine. Armed with our knowledge of how things will progress, the audience is left wondering how this family may be faring now. The Earth is Blue as an Orange is highly recommended for audiences wanting an intimate look inside the life of one typical Ukrainian family during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Awards:Best Cinematography, International Documentary Association; Spotlight Award, Cinema Eye Honors Awards; Best Documentary, Ukrainian Film Academy Awards; Grand Prix Bank Millennium Award, Millennium Docs Against Gravity; Directing Award World Cinema-Documentary, Sundance Film Festival; DOXX Spotlight, Tallgrass Int’l Film Festival
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