The Earth Is Blue as an Orange

“War is when some people shoot. And other people shoot the people who shot first. When they start to shoot, mum wakes us up and we go to the corridor. And when they stop, we go back to sleep.”

Outside, the streets echo with the sound of gunfire and exploding grenades. Inside their house, four siblings, together with their mother, cats and turtle, attempt to maintain some semblance of peace and normality in their everyday lives. War has been raging in Ukraine’s Donbas for five years. Nastja says it has made her easily irritable and angry. Her sister Myroslava, who dreams of studying cinematography, remarks that war is like a void. To fight back against the black hole, she decides to make a film, one about her family’s life in wartime, about the fears and small joys. Director Iryna Tsilyk observes everyday life under the shadow of war and one family’s collective creative response in a testament to resilience and the power of cinema.
by Iryna Tsilyk
with Ganna Gladka, Myroslava Trofymchuk, Anastasiia Trofymchuk, Vladyslav Trofymchuk, Stanislav Gladky, Olena Gladka, Olga Gladka, Danylo Dydenko
Ukraine / Lithuania 2020 Russian, Ukrainian 74’ Colour Documentary form

With

  • Ganna Gladka
  • Myroslava Trofymchuk
  • Anastasiia Trofymchuk
  • Vladyslav Trofymchuk
  • Stanislav Gladky
  • Olena Gladka
  • Olga Gladka
  • Danylo Dydenko

Crew

Director Iryna Tsilyk
Cinematography Viacheslav Tsvietkov
Editing Ivan Bannikov, Iryna Tsilyk
Sound Design Jonas Maksvytis
Producers Anna Kapustina, Giedrė Žickytė

Produced by

Albatros Communicos

Moonmakers

Iryna Tsilyk

In 2005, she graduated with a degree in television directing from the Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television. She also works as a writer. Her literary works have been translated into various languages and presented at international literary festivals.

Filmography (short films)

2008 Blue Hour 2012 Commemoration 2016 Home 2017 Kid · Tayra 2020 The Earth Is Blue as an Orange; documentary

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2020