Ukraine Is Not a Brothel

Ukraine Is Not a Brothel is a 2013 Australian documentary film directed by Kitty Green. The film debuted at the 70th Venice International Film Festival, although it was not part of the competition.[1] The documentary concerns the FEMEN (Фемен) movement, a feminist protest group originating from Ukraine.[2]

Ukraine Is Not a Brothel
Femen protest
Directed byKitty Green
Produced byJonathan auf der Heide
Kitty Green
Michael Latham
CinematographyMichael Latham
Edited byKitty Green
Music byZoe Barry
Jed Palmer
Production
company
Noise & Light
Release date
Running time
78 minutes
CountryAustralia

Content

edit

The film is a documentary on the activities of FEMEN, a Ukrainian feminist movement known for topless protests. The filmmaker Kitty Green[3][4] followed the activists for over a year, in Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey.[5] It documents the protests and the resulting harassments and arrests[6] over a span of fourteen months.[7] The film showcases the four activists who form the core of the film.[8]

The documentary shows Viktor Sviatsky as a driving force of the group FEMEN. He is the manipulator of all the protests and, in essence, commander of the females.[1][6][9][10][11]

The activists of FEMEN participated in the promotion of the documentary. They claimed that the situation in the film, i.e. under the leadership of Viktor Sviatsky, is actually part of the past, since he was ejected from the movement in 2012.[1][12]

Cast

edit
 
Anna Hutsol (left) during a filmed protest

The four principal women of FEMEN (Фемен):

Release

edit

The film was screened out of competition at the 70th Venice International Film Festival of Venice.[1] At the festival photocall the activists appeared topless, as is usual for their protests[13]

Critical reception

edit

Glenn Dunks[14] and Christopher Schobert of The Playlist on IndieWire[15] gave the film positive reviews.

Accolades

edit

On 9 September 2014, Ukraine is Not a Brothel won for the Best Feature Length Documentary by Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts, awarded at the 4th AACTA Awards at The Star Event Centre, Sydney, New South Wales in late January 2015[16]

Award Category Subject Result
AACTA Award
(4th)
Best Feature Length Documentary[17] Jonathan auf der Heide Won
Michael Latham Won
Kitty Green Won
Best Direction in a Documentary Nominated
Best Editing in a Documentary Nominated
Best Cinematography in a Documentary Michael Latham Nominated
Best Sound in a Documentary Doron Kipen Nominated
Jed Palmer Nominated
Best Original Music Score in a Documentary Nominated
Zoe Barry Nominated

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d "Le Femen al Biografilm, è tutto cambiato". it:ANSA. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  2. ^ Green, Kitty (8 March 2016), Ukraine Is Not a Brothel, Inna Shevchenko, Sasha Shevchenko, Anna Hutsol, retrieved 12 December 2017
  3. ^ Theodorakidis, Alexandra (7 May 2014). "Ukraine Is Not a Brothel: Q&A with director Kitty Green". cjfe.org. Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  4. ^ Jones, Reece (17 June 2014). "We Spoke to Kitty Green about her FEMEN Documentary 'Ukraine is Not a Brothel'". VICE United States.
  5. ^ "Ukraine is Not a Brothel (2013) - IMDb". IMDb.
  6. ^ a b Fraschetti, Valeria (3 September 2013). "Femen: Se un uomo comanda le femministe. Ho inventato io la protesta in topless". la Repubblica. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  7. ^ Westmore, Garry (10 June 2014). "Kitty Green Talks 'Ukraine Is Not A Brothel'". spookmagazine.com. Spook Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  8. ^ D'Amico, Valentina (6 September 2013). "What is Femen?". Movieplayer.it. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  9. ^ Marino, Giuseppe (7 June 2014). "Femen - Ukraine Is Not a Brothel, al Biografilm il film di Kitty Green che racconta scena e retroscena del movimento di protesta neofemminista". BolognaCult. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  10. ^ "Viktor Sviatski, un manipulateur dans l'ombre des Femen". Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  11. ^ Stern, Marlow (12 March 2014). "Femen's Abusive Patriarch, Victor Svyatski, Exposed in 'Ukraine Is Not a Brothel'". THE DAILY BEAST. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  12. ^ Larsson, Milene (9 September 2013). VICE (ed.). "Femen: 'We're Not Run by Men'". vice.com. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  13. ^ "Venezia, protesta Femen in topless al photocall". La Stampa. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  14. ^ Dunks, Glenn (1 August 2014). "Buying and Selling in Ukraine".
  15. ^ Schobert, Christopher (1 May 2014). "Hot Docs Review: 'Ukraine Is Not A Brothel' - The Playlist". indiewire.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  16. ^ Groves, Don (9 September 2014). "Hot docs for AACTA Awards". Inside Film (IF). Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  17. ^ 4th AACTA Awards Winners Announced in Sydney 2015-01-29
edit