Ukraine lacks cultural diplomacy at state level – filmmaker Vasianovych

According to him, the reasons for such a situation are the lack of proper communication at the state level, the powerful lobby of Russian cinema in Europe, and the desire of Europeans to avoid protest campaigns by Ukrainian artists to remind of the war.

"Last year, representatives of Ukraine articulated the right messages, but they disturbed the peace of Europeans. And now they want to be in their idyllic world with curtsies and minuets without our problems. Sometimes I joke that 40 missiles at Cannes or Paris would have radically changed the attitude of the French..." Vasianovych notes.

He also mentions Joël Chapron, a well-known lobbyist for Russian cinema, with whom the Cannes Film Festival cooperates. Against this background, Ukrainian cultural diplomacy is losing.

According to the director, this results in missed chances and the fact that Europe has sheltered itself. 

"We have a lack of proper communication at the state level - the State Film Agency and other institutions," he believes.

• The Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 16 to May 27. This year, two films about Ukraine will be screened in Cannes: the documentary In the Rearview by Polish director Maciek Hamela, a co-production of Poland, France, and Ukraine, and the short film As It Was by Polish director Damian Kocur and Ukrainian Anastasia Solonevych.

• In 2022, the Cannes Film Festival had a large Ukrainian representation. The film Pamfir took part in the Directors' Fortnight, and Butterfly Vision in the main competition. In various sections, films in development were also presented: When We Were 15, Mariupolis 2, Peace for Nina, and others. Four films were screened in the documentary section at once.