“How War Becomes Part of the Human”: Alina Gorlova, Yelizaveta Smith, and Simon Mozgovyi on their Cannes-Premiering ‘Militantropos’

Alina Gorlova, Yelizaveta Smith, and Simon Mozgovyi’s riveting Militantropos, its title a mashup of “milit" (soldier in Latin) and “antropos” (human in Greek), is a striking verité look at how people don’t just fight wars but become “absorbed into war.” Indeed, through a series of meticulously framed images, along with a visceral sound design, we’re taken on a swift-moving trip through the surreality of today’s Ukraine — from the training of everyday citizens in lethal weaponry, to wandering cows on a decimated farm. But also children picnicking in a field, and farmers meticulously tending to their crops, bombs in the distance be damned. If there’s one thing the “militantropos” can count on, it’s that amidst ever-present death, the cycle of life carries on. A week prior to the film’s Directors’ Fortnight premiere, Documentary caught up with the co-directing trio, all members of the prolific indie production company Tabor (its CEO, producer Eugene Rachkovsky, also chimed in briefly). Tabor was founded by a group of Ukrainian filmmakers and artists in 2013, the year before Russia annexed Crimea and set the path to the ongoing war.

To read my interview visit Documentary magazine.