Ukrainian Filmmakers Launch Cannes Protest Over Russian ‘Genocide’

variety.com:

Christopher Vourlias With the Cannes Film Festival abuzz ahead of the world premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis,” a mournful air raid siren sounded over the Croisette on Wednesday afternoon, serving as a somber reminder that the war in Ukraine has entered its fourth brutal month.In a solemn protest outside the Salle Debussy, just steps from where Tom Hanks, Austin Butler and other stars of the “King of Rock” biopic were set to hit the red carpet at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, the Ukrainian filmmaking team behind Un Certain Regard player “Butterfly Vision” made an impassioned plea that the world remember their country’s suffering.Standing on the steps of the Palais as the siren wailed – a nod toward the warnings that sound across Ukraine when a Russian attack is imminent – director Maksym Nakonechnyi, producers Darya Bassel and Yelizaveta Smit, and lead actress Rita Burkovska stood side by side with nearly two dozen members of the production team.

They held translucent squares over their faces bearing the crossed-eye logo used on social-media platforms when content is considered sensitive or disturbing.

The protesters then unfurled a banner that read: “Russians kill Ukrainians. Do you find it offensive or disturbing to talk about this genocide?”Speaking to Variety ahead of the protest, Bassel said the symbolic gesture was a reminder that “since the beginning of the full-scale war [in Ukraine], a lot of war-related visual content in social media was automatically hidden as sensitive and disturbing.” Rather than hide from the war’s discomforting reality, the producer urged the international community to confront the suffering of Ukraine head-on.