Mariupolis 2

Some cities are symbols of society’s progress, while others are a reminder of people’s degradation, lack of empathy, and ruin. The Ukrainian city of Mariupol is under fire from Russian aggressors, with lifeless bodies lying in the streets and many buildings left in ruins. Six years after his first film about the city, Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravičius returned to Mariupol to record the unexpected continuation of the inhospitable, everyday reality of the bombarded city. He paid for his return with his life – but his fiancée managed to get the footage out. Shot in the spirit of cinéma vérité, Mariupolis 2 provides a unique, hyper-realistic account of war and of the altruism of the Ukrainian people. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)