Mariupolis 2 by the Lithuanian film director killed in Ukraine, Mantas Kvedaravičius, will be screened in cinemas across the country from March 30.
Kvedaravičius was killed in Mariupol in April last year after he entered the city, besieged by Russian forces, together with his partner and co-director, Hanna Bilobrova. The footage was later smuggled out of the city.
“Do you know what the most incredible thing was about Mariupol? No one feared death, even if people thought they did. Death was already there, and everyone wanted to die valuable,” the film’s description reads. “People would help each other, even if it meant risking their lives. People would smoke outside and chat, even if the bombs were falling.”
Read more: Journalistic investigation reveals details of Lithuanian filmmaker Kvedaravičius’ murder in Mariupol
“Money stopped existing, and life was too short to recall it, and everyone was happy with what they had, becoming better versions of themselves; there was no past or future or judgement, or talk between the lines,” it says. “That was heaven in hell. That was the delicate butterfly wings touching closer. That was the smell of the naked value of death. That was life there.”
The film was completed by the same team that worked on the first acclaimed documentary about Ukraine's port city.
Mariupolis 2 later won the Special Prize for Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival and was named Best Documentary at the European Film Awards.
Premiere on Independence Day
As part of the Vilnius Independent Film Festival, Mariupolis 2 premiered at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (LNOBT) on the country’s independence day on March 11.
After the screening, Lithuania’s Prime MinisterIngrida Šimonytė said the film was “a must-see to better understand that we must not tire of supporting Ukraine”.
"People forget, the details are erased, but here is the testimony. The testimony of a crime, the testimony of suffering. A testimony of genocide against the Ukrainian people and a testimony to us that the phrase 'never again', which was coined on the ruins of the Second World War, has perhaps worn a little thin,” she said.
Kristupas Sabolius, professor at Vilnius University's Institute of Philosophy, said that the footage captured in this documentary is simply impossible to see anywhere else.
“In this work of art, you can feel the juxtaposition of that incredible horror, danger and brutal reality,” said Sabolius.
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