This event, organized in partnership with the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, became the first case of the Network's cooperation with this well-known research, cultural, and educational institution. The War Museum team initiated the screening within the framework of the “War: Reversed Perspective” exhibition and turned one of the exhibition halls into a large-screen cinema for the sake of this event. The film Witnesses. To the North of Kyiv tells how five residents of the villages of Moshchun, Hostomel, and Pushcha-Vodytsia, which are located closest to the northern outskirts of the capital, survived the first weeks of the full-scale invasion and occupation by Russian troops. Their stories, along with stories of hundreds of other Ukrainians, were recorded by the War Archive team to document the crimes of the occupiers and preserve the memory of the life of our people during the great war. The issues of memory preservation, restoration of justice, and adequate punishment of the aggressor were the main topics of discussion after the screening. Director Tetyana Symon shared her experience of work on the film and told about the difficulties and challenges that the War Archive team faces when collecting testimonies.
Tetyana Symon
“Since the outbreak of the full-scale invasion, I have recorded more than 900 interviews with eyewitnesses. While working on them, I’ve realized that not all of the testimonies could be used in international courts as evidence of the aggressor's crimes. But these stories show the challenges that Ukrainians have to go through, as well as our inner strength and willingness to help each other. I wanted the world to see these stories. That's how the idea of making a film emerged. I shared this idea with Roman Bondarchuk (filmmaker, art director of the Docudays UA International Film Festival – ed.), showed him several minutes of the future film’s footage, and we decided that it should be made,” said Tetyana Symon.
The audience cried while watching the movie
The hall was filled to capacity. The audience both cried and laughed while watching the film, asking the director about the fate of the film's characters, peculiarities of interviewing war crimes witnesses, details of writing of the script, and intricacies of the film’s editing. The conversation was heartwarming, sincere, and fruitful for all participants. A pleasant surprise for the filmmaker and the audience was the presence of residents of Moshchun and Horenka, who came to see the stories of their fellow villagers on the big screen. The viewers told us that they dreamed of showing the film in their freshly reconstructed House of Culture, thanked Tetyana Symon for her work, and gave her, as one viewer put it, “a piece of the heart of Moshchun.” “40 minutes flew by, as one watches this story in one breath.” “I saw ordinary people on the screen, but they are actually heroes, although they don't realize it.” “We are having a difficult time now, much like in 2022. We need to show this film to our foreign partners, so that they can understand what a strong nation they are helping.” These were the comments from the audience after the screening.
The audience cried while watching the movie
Yuriy Horpynych, head of the exhibition department at the Museum of War, noted: “We are happy to have a successful cooperation with the DOCU/CLUB Network. We hope for its continuation in the future, because the Museum’s and the Network’s teams have a common goal – to preserve the truth about the war and to convey it to their audiences.” Saying goodbye to the audience, Olha Babchuk, moderator of the discussion and communication manager of the DOCU/CLUB Network said: “The stories of the protagonists of this and other films from the Witnesses series help us see the human face of our resistance behind the dry figures and remind ourselves who we are. All of us became involuntary witnesses of the Russian-Ukrainian war. I believe that we will also witness our victory.”
