In this episode, Cinema Scope host Genevieve Trainor is speaking with Kyiv-based Babylon’13 Film Collective Producer and Cinematographer Andrii Kotliar. This is their third conversation for Cinema Scope but their first one in person — they sat down in the Babylon‘13 office in Kyiv to talk about the important role filmmakers in Ukraine have in documenting Russia’s full-scale invasion and, globally, the fight for democracy and human rights.
“Babylon‘13 assembled in the beginning of the Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv in the end of 2013.
So basically, [Babylon‘13] was a response from the filmmakers and the question [of] how we can help our country to establish a way to the EU, to join rejoin the European family again — and because we have common values, a common setup of thinking about human rights, about the spirit of democracy itself.”
Andrii is one of the core team members of Babylon‘13, which produced documentary Iron Butterflies. The film helped bring public awareness to Russia’s direct responsibility for the downing of Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Iron Butterflies had its world premiere at Sundance 2023 and was selected for Berlinale and many other significant festivals in 2023 and 2024.
Learn more about Babylon‘13 and watch their films here: https://babylon13.org.ua/?lang=en