Screenings of the Oscar-nominated film from our country, Klondike, have started in Ukraine. The action of the picture takes place in the Donbass, during the crash of the passenger Boeing MH17. HER director Marina Er Gorbach together with her husband and producer Mehmet Bahadiza Er flew to the United States to present their work there. Experts say that the chances of winning the Ukrainian film are great, but Marina admits that it is more important for her to once again draw attention to the war in Ukraine.
In an exclusive interview with FACTS, Marina admitted why she conquers herself enough and where she will meet the victory of Ukraine.
“All the time it seemed to me that the Klondike did not have time to take place in someone’s fate”
- Back in the summer, we planned the release of “Klondike” in Ukraine. Marina remembers. - It was completely illogical, because there is a war going on in the country, what kind of cinemas … But I myself saw that people willingly go to the cinema, react, discuss.
- Plus, as an Oscar contender, you had to release the movie to the public.
- To be purely bureaucratic, the premiere of Klondike took place back in May. It was released in Brazil. But, of course, it was wrong to go to the Oscar from Ukraine and not show up in your own country. Therefore, the decision was made. I confess, when the capital was first attacked by drones, I had a fear that people would go to the cinema. But when I saw full cinema halls with my own eyes, I realized that such emotions are not enough now.
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- Although your cinema is quite complex.
- Yes, this is not a comedy. But people perceive the history of the Klondike as the history of Donbass. A friend told me that while watching, she several times wanted to stand in front of the screen and turn to the characters with the words: “Leave!”
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- It turns out that your film appeared at the moment when it was needed!
- And I always thought I was late. You know, when our actor Sergei Shadrin, who plays the main male role, died, I got the feeling that I didn’t have time to show him some moments. It was his first lead role! Sergey was waiting for her very much. It always seemed to me that we did not have time to take place in someone’s fate. So I wanted to release Klondike to the world as soon as possible. Last October, we received an award in America at the Sundance Film Festival, although there was no explicit war agenda at that time. And the closer we got to the premiere, especially in February 2022 at the Berlin Festival, the issue of war became more and more relevant.
- Did you believe that the war would still happen?
- I didn’t analyze it. Although there were so many factors that spoke about scaling. I think Europe just let it happen. Russia “chopped off” part of the Donbass, Crimea and did not receive any retaliatory sanctions! I remember that when we were already finishing filming, Russia simply withdrew from the MH17 case! Of course, they didn’t have a “red light” anywhere.
- You walked long enough to shoot “Klondike” - the tragedy occurred on July 17, 2014.
- We completed the film in 2020 and received funding in 2019. The super active period was from 2016 to 2019. By the way, we applied for funding with this film twice. In 2017, we were refused - they said that it was too early for such a topic. Then Bad Roads was also denied - we were in the same competition. Two years later we set off again. For me, the topic of the MH17 disaster and what happened in the Donbass has always been clear. This is not a question of reflection - I wanted to actively declare that I do not agree with the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the broken fates of many Ukrainians. In fact, this picture saved me too - when the shooting started, I stopped slowly going crazy.
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- The MH17 crash happened on your birthday.
- Exactly. Therefore, I followed this case very carefully, focusing on each anniversary. I saw how things progressed towards some kind of romanticization of memories and transition to some ritual day. This could not be allowed!
“I wanted to state that I do not agree with the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the broken lives of many Ukrainians”
During those nine months of full scale invasion, did you experience fear?
- Only on the platform, getting on the train to Ukraine, when you receive text messages, rockets flying from all sides. Then comes the horror. But when you are already driving, and then you leave in Kyiv, it becomes easier. Our film crew did not feel fear either. We recently got together, chatted for three hours and never thought about the war.
- People adapt to everything.
- I think people are trying to pull themselves into life. It is clear that everyone is thinking about the war, but this is not the main topic.
- Did your relatives stay in Kyiv?
- Mom was there until mid-May. The first months were very difficult for me. I didn’t sleep at all. It was hard to accept the idea that the city where I grew up was being bombed. She left when things calmed down. But when you are far away, you worry about your relatives more than they do in Kyiv. I felt it myself. Our apartment survived, but flew in at my school. The 16-storey building is almost completely destroyed. You know, I had such a strong emotional stress on January 24 that I only remember the list of actions. I just couldn’t understand everything.
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- How was your morning on February 24th?
- I woke up and saw that my phone was torn from messages. I called my mother in Kyiv - she was sleeping and did not hear anything. My sister works on television, she had a night broadcast. She came home, put ear plugs in her ears, and until two in the afternoon I could not get through to her. It was horror! But my mother was more afraid for me, because I simply did not control myself. My son didn’t understand what happened. I just said: “Kyiv is being bombed.” He hugged me with the words: “Mom, I’ll put T-shirts and socks separately, disassemble the machine myself, just don’t cry …”
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Then Irpen was such a strong stress, when our troops began to enter the city. I was at that time abroad, preparing for the performance. But for a long time she could not go on stage, because there was a lump in her throat.
- How do you deal with emotional stress?
- I don’t know what to do when our Oscar campaign ends. How will my body react when my responsibility is over - now I’m worried about the advertising company, and it takes all the time. The emotional uplift is very high. What I want now is to lie at home under the covers for 24 hours. But I understand that you need to have some option for later. I can’t say if it will be a film about the war. But I know for sure that I need to “turn over”.
- Can you imagine what the day of our victory will be like?
- I want to take a man to the Crimea. Getting ready to be there in the summer!
Let us remind you that earlier wrote about Mantas Kvedaravichyus, the director of the film “Mariupoli 2”, who was tortured by Russian occupiers.
Source: Fakty
