As stated by Deadline, Cannes leader Thierry Frémaux (Lumière!, Seduced and Abandoned) expressed his opinions regarding the Russian-Ukrainian War. The Berlin Film Festival often stays silent regarding political affairs, striking the public eye as Frémaux speaks up. The remark was made on Friday when he announced the top documentary at Cannes, the L’Oeil d’or Prize. The award was granted to Pegah Ahangarani’s Rehearsals for a Revolution.
Fremaux stated about Putin during the events of 2022 when he declared war in Ukraine, “This war that Ukraine will not lose and Putin will not win. And in any case, he already loses when there are filmmakers of such quality who make films of such quality [about Ukraine] to say what is the truth about this conflict.”
Deadline spoke to Ukrainian director Mstyslav Chernov (Frontline, The Way Things Seem to Be) as he was saluted during Fremaux’s spiel. He won an Oscar in 2023 for his documentary 20 Days in Mariupol and was nominated in 2025 for 200 Meters to Andriivka, his follow-up documentary. He stated, “I’m always very happy when someone like Thierry or someone who has a big stage, someone who has a voice in the artistic industry, expresses their support for Ukrainian art and for Ukraine The Ukraine film industry… Ukrainian art in general has taken huge responsibility — I would say sometimes it feels like too big of a responsibility on itself — to carry both artistic and political values to the world.”
He continued, “And that is a hard thing to do because artists are not only speaking for themselves and for the people about whom they’re making their films, they’re also inevitably speaking for the country, and they inevitably make political statements. It is always hard for the artists to carry a wave of a political statements because, let’s say, there is a common mistake to think that art can exist outside of politics.”
200 Meters to Andriivka was one of the few films premiering at the Cannes Film Festival to honor Ukraine. Chernov’s film premiered in 2025. Rostislav Kirpicenko’s Vesna and Andreï Zviaguintsev’s Minotaur both premiered this year in the competition section that have elements of Ukraine and the Russian war. Chernov stated, “I’m happy Ukraine is mentioned in Cannes. I’m happy that I can represent Ukraine in Cannes, especially in this documentary jury as president,” Chernov told us. “And I’m happy that more and more Ukrainian films are seen around the world.”
Leave a Comment