Ukraine: Berlinale Says World Is On Verge Of “Huge Crisis”; European Film Academy Issues Pledge Of Support For Local Filmmakers; Kyiv Cinemas Close As Explosions Heard In Capital

UPDATE, 9:30AM: The Berlin International Film Festival has become the latest European organization to condemn Russia’s aggression into Ukraine and to voice support for local filmmakers.

“We – festival workers, artists, filmmakers … – think fondly of our friends in Ukraine and we are by their side in a call for peace,” the fest said in a statement. “The world is on a verge of a huge crisis”.

You can read the statement in full at the end of this post.

More Stories On Russia-Ukraine Conflict

PREVIOUSLY, 3:48AM: The European Film Academy (EFA) has contacted its members in Ukraine pledging support amidst today’s assault on the country by Russian forces.

“We are looking at ways that we can provide practical support to members, through our association with organizations which are close on the ground in terms of borders,” EFA chairman Mike Downey told Deadline. “As the situation unfolds, we are trying to find out what help might be necessary, and at that point we can react.”

The organization is presently working out what assistance it may be able to offer, including if some particularly vulnerable members of the film and TV industries may need help leaving the country.

Covering Ukraine: Five U.S. Journalists Talk About Their Experiences On-Air & In Country As Invasion Unfolded

“There are clearly a number of individual artists who have been outspokenly critical of the Russian regime, so if this turns out to be a full-on occupation, their lives will be more endangered than they are already,” noted Downey.

In Poland, which shares a significant border with Ukraine, the local producer’s association is meeting tomorrow to discuss how it might be able to help Ukrainian filmmakers.

There are more than 60 Ukrainian members of the EFA, all of whom have received personalized correspondence co-signed by Downey, Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland and EFA director Matthijs Wouter Knol expressing “solidarity’ with their situation. The EFA has a board meeting next week at which the topic will be further discussed.

Russia Banned From Eurovision Song Contest 2022

“We do realise the current daily increase of tension must have an impact on your life and health, morale and creative work,” the letter reads. “You are one of our valued members. Rest assured we stand behind you, supporting your work in the best way we can.” Scroll down to see the full missive.

People in Ukraine have been valiantly attempting to continue with their daily lives, going to work and socializing as the conflict has escalated in recent days. Earlier this week, Sky News UK reported how actors at one theater in Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city, were continuing to perform a stage production despite the looming threat of conflict.

However, the situation has grown significantly worse overnight, with explosions being heard on the outskirts of capital city Kyiv, leading many to stay home or flee the city. Pictures from local media showed long queues at banks as people attempted to withdraw funds, and motorways packed with cars departing Kyiv.

Today, it appears the majority of cinemas in Kyiv have been forced to temporarily close as tensions escalate.

The Planeta Kino chain confirmed to Deadline that it has closed sites for February 24 and February 25, and did not have “accurate information” about when it could resume operations, but hoped to be able to resume work “shortly”.

The company has cleared its listings for today and tomorrow, but has screenings of titles including House Of Gucci, Clifford The Big Red Dog and Uncharted on sale for February 26.

It seems certain all film and TV shoots will be halted temporarily. As Downey notes, the possibility of receiving insurance for Ukrainian productions will be effectively zero in the current situation.

Here’s the Berlinale statement:

We – festival workers, artists, filmmakers … – think fondly of our friends in Ukraine and we are by their side in a call for peace.

One week ago, the Berlin International Film Festival was celebrating a complicated yet successful edition. Filmmakers, artists and journalists from all over the world gathered in Berlin to enjoy a collective and joyful experience. The feeling of being together again, with no distinctions of nationality, religion, or culture, transported us in a way that film festivals can accomplish.

While these memories remain fresh, other images have broken into our lives, bringing a darker perspective. The world is on a verge of a huge crisis. As a showcase of the free world, the Berlinale has always put at its centre the notion of freedom and the will to bridge East and West.

Throughout its history, the Berlin International Film Festival has had the opportunity to showcase films relating to Ukrainian history and culture in all sections of the festival, recently, this year’s Klondike by Maryna El Gorbach and Terykony by Taras Tomenko, Oleg Sentsov’s Numbers in 2020, back to the films of Kira Muratova and the early short films of Myroslav Slaboshpytsky, and many more.

Films cannot change the society and the course of history, but they can help in changing the minds of people. Films are telling us that the world is already in a too precarious condition to add even more suffering and destruction.

Here’s the note sent out by the EFA in full:

As a Ukrainian member of the European Film Academy we’d like to write you personally. While aware of the ongoing political and military escalation in the Eastern part of Ukraine since many years, which first gained international attention with the annexation of Crimea in 2014, we do realise the current daily increase of tension must have an impact on your life and health, morale and creative work.

On behalf of the community of over 4,200 members of the European Film Academy, we want to express our solidarity with you.

The European Film Academy was founded in 1989 by filmmakers from Eastern and Western Europe, with the aim to defend the cinema in our part of the world and unite filmmakers from all parts of Europe. European cinema has always been shaped by important values. Human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, and human rights are key elements in creating the best circumstances for filmmakers to work. As an Academy and through our work, we strongly advocate for these values and protest any violation.

You are one of our valued members. Rest assured we stand behind you, supporting your work in the best way we can.