On behalf of The Reckoning Project and the Ukrainian NGO Public Interest Journalism Lab, we are honoured to invite you to the screening of a selection of The Reckoning Project’s films on Russian war crimes in Ukraine, followed by a discussion with The Reckoning Project co-founder, Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk and Ukrainian journalist who faced persecution under occupation Anzhela Slobodian.
When: 2 May, 19:30
Location: Centro Cultural de España Chile, Av. Providencia 927, 7500642 Santiago (Metro Salvador)
The films will have Spanish subtitles. The discussion will be conducted in English and Ukrainian with translation into Spanish.
Executions, torture of prisoners, forcible removal of children, the obstruction of evacuation, and the shelling of civilians, hospitals, and infrastructure... During the 2 years of the invasion, the army of the Russian Federation committed almost all of these types of crimes in breach of the Geneva Conventions. The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has opened more than 120,000 proceedings relating to war crimes, and Ukraine demands the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression, which it calls “the mother of all crimes“.
The Reckoning Project: Ukraine Testifies is an initiative of Ukrainian and international reporters, analysts and lawyers to document war crimes and create appealing stories that aim to provide historical documentation of the Russian war in Ukraine. Ukraine-based journalists and researchers collect testimonies of witnesses of the alleged war crimes, neutrally record them in accordance with a methodology that makes them applicable for use in litigation. The analysts verify them, while Ukrainian writers and documentary filmmakers create multimedia content based on the testimonies.
“RETURN ME TO MY DAD”. THREE UKRAINIAN CHILDREN SENT TO RUSSIA AGAINST THEIR WILL
(In partnership with Vanity Fair)
The film tells the story of the Mezhevyi family, residents of the city of Mariupol, which was attacked and captured by the Russian troops. The children were separated from their father during the forced evacuation following a violent filtration procedure. The father was detained. Later, three kinds were sent to the sanatorium near Moscow, where they were given a choice: adoption by a Russian family or being moved to an orphanage. Fortunately, the eldest boy Matvii found a way to call the father. Yevhen managed to save his children from Russia and reach Latvia where the family is currently building their new life.
Authors of the film: Iryna Lopatina, Angelina Kariakina, Lyuba Knorozok
Duration: 10 min
CHORNOBYL 22
During the Russian occupation of the Chornobyl Zone in early 2022, a local informant is clandestinely filming the Russian troops. We hear the workers of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Station discuss their experiences during the Russian military takeover of their facility - an act of nuclear terror which threatened another global disaster at this site. Past and present catastrophic scenarios intertwine in this episode of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Author of the film: Oleksiy Radynski
Duration: 21:13 min
THE LOST PARADISE. VIKTOR MARUNYAK
(In partnership with The Atlantic)
Viktor Marunyak, the Head of Stara Zburivka, a village in the Kherson Oblast, shares memories of his unlawful arrest and the violent tortures that the Russian soldiers subjected him to after the village was occupied. He was only released when his health deteriorated to the point of it becoming critical. Viktor, and his wife Katia, eventually managed to evacuate and find a quiet place in Latvia where they recall the paradise that had been lost due to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Author of the film: Roman Bondarchuk.
Duration: 21:09 min
THE HOSPITAL THAT WAS TAKEN HOSTAGE
(In partnership with Vanity Fair)
Despite the threats and scare tactics practiced by the Russian military, for 9 months 80 medics continued providing medical help to the local residents of Snihurivka after the town in South Ukraine was occupied. They performed surgeries under improper conditions, and treated the invaders, under their commitment to the medical oaths. The medics also treated the people who had been imprisoned and tortured, hid medical equipment during searches and maintained contact with the outside world to tell their true story, while awaiting liberation.
Authors of the film: Anna Tsyhyma, Nataliya Gumenyuk
Duration: 21:00 min
Nataliya Gumenyuk is a Ukrainian journalist, and author specializing in conflict reporting. She is the founder and CEO of the Public Interest Journalism Lab which promotes constructive discussion around complex social issues. After the full-scale Russian invasion, Gumenyuk co-founded "The Reckoning Project: Ukraine Testifies" which documents war crimes committed during the war. The Reckoning Project’s documentaries and articles have been published by TIME, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, The Dial, and New Lines Magazine. In 2023, under Gumenyuk's leadership within the “Connecting The Continents” initiative, PIJL brought to Ukraine senior editors, public intellectuals and journalists from Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Nataliya is the author of several documentaries and books, including “The Lost Island: Tales From The Occupied Crimea” and “The Maidan Tahrir” on the development after the Arab Spring, as well as the co-author of the book “The Scariest Days of My Life. The Dispatches of The Reckoning Project“. As a foreign news correspondent, she has reported from over 50 countries. Nataliya regularly writes for The Guardian, Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, The Rolling Stone, Die Zeit, The New York Times, and The Atlantic.
Anzhela Slobodian worked as a correspondent for Ukraine TV and Radio Broadcasting Company, and after the full-scale invasion continued providing news coverage and broadcasting live under her name from the occupied city of Kherson until her illegal detention on 5 July 2022. Slobodian was held captive for a month but was eventually released and fled the region. In February 2023, she testified in the People’s Court in The Hague, where she spoke about Russian captivity, and crimes and violations of journalists' rights committed in Kherson.
The event is organized in partnership with the Centro Cultural de España Chile and the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Chile. The visit is partially supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the framework of the Human Rights in Action Program implemented by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union.