A new Ukrainian-Luxembourg short explores civilian survival through intimate animation. The festival debut in Auckland hints at wider international outreach.
The Ukrainian-Luxembourgish short animation “Ember” started its international festival journey with a screening in Auckland, New Zealand, at the prestigious DocEdge film festival, which is accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The organizers of DocEdge announced this.
Producer Iryna Yeroshko noted that such a start to the festival circuit, 17,000 kilometers from Ukraine, literally visualizes the team’s intention to show their work as widely as possible.
The 12-minute film, directed by Vladyslav Kalensky, tells without words the story of a summer couple living in a private house near Kyiv who experience bombardment, occupation, surviving in a basement, and subsequent evacuation. The film’s plot is recreated from documentary testimonies of eyewitnesses to the Russian invasion, gathered by specialists from the National Research Fund of Luxembourg.
Critics’ Reception and Future Festival Plans
Independent New Zealand film criticism outlet Blackguard Reviews described the film as a powerful emotional impact that leaves a mark on the viewer.
a small film with a huge emotional resonance
– Blackguard Reviews
a quiet blow straight to the chest
– Blackguard Reviews
reproduces not a physical, but an emotional landscape of war
– Alex Moulton
Alex Lee, the long-time director of the DocEdge festival, stressed that it was important for him to include a film about the war in Ukraine in this year’s program, and also urged Ukrainian filmmakers to actively appeal to audiences in the Asia-Pacific region.
In the New Zealand Parliament, an official reception was held on Europe Day, in which, among others, representatives of the Wellington Ukrainian community took part.
Such screenings highlight the growing interest of global audiences in Ukrainian animation and the topics of the war in Ukraine.