Iron Butterflies (Залізні метелики)

Production Status
Work in Progress
Year of starting production
2020
Release Date
2021
Country(ies) of (co)production
Ukraine
Languages
English, Russian, Ukrainian
Duration
90’

In the greatest security crisis in Europe since the Cold War, a butterfly-shaped shrapnel found in the body of the pilot of an Amsterdam - Kuala Lumpur flight proves a superpower’s unpunished war crime.

On 17 July 2014 a Malaysian Airlines Boeing, flight MH17, with 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board, was heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. The plane was shot down by a BUK Missile controlled by pro-Russian separatists while flying over Eastern Ukrainian areas, where war started in 2014. Iron Butterflies reflects on the tragedy of MH17. It is a hybrid film that combines facts and archival footage with artificial and fictitious elements. The fictional scenes of the film show different scenarios touching the topics around the case. By using dance, physical performance, music, installations and video art the film aims to emphasise the surreal circumstances of the case. Different documentary episodes, such as found-footage collages, archival footage, interviews and observations alternate with fictional ones. Through this visualisation the spectator gets a chance to see the event from different angles and at different times, simultaneously connecting the crimes of the past with the present.

CREW:
Directing: Roman Liubyi
Сo-production: Steve Bandera
Sound: Andriy Rogachov
Funding:
Already engaged financial partners and funds: Ukrainian State Film Agency, Ukraine
Festivals
CPH:DOX 2020

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