PortraitThe Un Certain Regard section chose “Butterfly Vision”, the first feature film by the young Ukrainian director. Inspired by real events, it deals with the abuses committed by the Russian army in the Donbass from 2014, and in particular rape as a weapon of war. Its author wants to go to the Croisette to “raise the voice of his country”.
“I warn you, I risk hanging up at any moment! » When we call him, Thursday, May 5, Maksym Nakonechnyi is stuck in the kyiv police station. He has just been arrested for having taken part in a demonstration in support of the soldiers entrenched in the steelworks of the martyred city of Mariupol. “Martial law prohibits any gathering on the public highway, the police just want to control us, he reassures. In a state of war, all situations are delicate and complicated. »
As soon as these words are spoken, the young 31-year-old Ukrainian director hangs up. Trained at the University of Theatre, Cinema and Television in kyiv, he has several short films and documentaries to his credit. With other independent creators, he also founded Tabor, the production house which financed his first fiction feature film, Butterfly Vision. It traces the story of a Ukrainian soldier who returns to her family after several months of captivity in the hands of the Russians, in the Donbass.
The Cannes Film Festival selected it in the Un certain regard section. But, for the moment, Maksym Nakonechnyi is a thousand miles from the Côte d’Azur and its rise to the steps. He calls us back two hours later, relieved of embarrassment. “I was filming the families of the soldiers when we were arrested”, he then specifies.
An archivist against Russian propaganda
Maksym is one of those artists, still numerous, who have decided to stay in the Ukrainian capital to document the state of siege. “We try to film everything that is possible, without tracking down the breaking news, he says. Above all, we seek to evoke people’s stories, to show how savage and unjust this war is for them. And, of course, we do what we can to help the population, to meet the needs of soldiers. »
What will he do with these images? “Perhaps they will give birth to short films or a documentary? Perhaps we will also join our efforts, with the colleagues of Tabor, to create a common project. But our initial goal is to create archives. » Testify, to counter the ravages of Russian propaganda, insists the one who has also been busy helping the international press who came to cover the events. “When you see the power of Putin’s propaganda, you have to hammer the facts. »
To fight with a gun or to create? The dilemma arose from the early days of the conflict for many of his fellow artists. Some have decided for the front. Others for artistic resistance. “These choices are deeply individual. But whatever the answer, the main thing is to stay aware and focused. » The idea of running away barely crossed his mind. “To tell the truth, on the third day of the invasion, when the Russian saboteurs became very active in the streets of kyiv, we considered withdrawing to the suburbs, or to the surrounding. » But the curfew has passed. Impossible to leave the capital. Here he is stuck in the offices of Tabor, where he is still at the time of writing these lines.
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