EXCLUSIVE: As Ukraine appears to be embarking on a major counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion, a new film about the war is set to make its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival.
Rule of Two Walls, directed by David Gutnik and executive produced by actor Liev Schreiber, creates a “visceral and vital portrait of today’s Ukraine through the lens of artists.” We have your first look at the film in the trailer above.
“Rule of Two Walls is an intimate look at the war in Ukraine, as seen through the eyes of Ukrainian artists who remain in their country to make art as a defiant act in the face of aggression,” according to a description of the film. “Using live music performance, painting, street art, and the act of filmmaking itself, it illuminates the war’s psychological frontlines: how to go to a restaurant or bar amid the near-constant blare of air-raid alarms and missile strikes; how to process, react and resist, while having to go about the rhythms of daily life. Blurring the lines between what is seen in front of and behind the camera, the film probes what it means to make cinema in a time of war.”
‘Rule of Two Walls’
2Brave Productions/Park Pictures/Stacey Reiss Productions
The film, playing in Documentary Competition at Tribeca, premieres on Thursday evening, with a Q&A to follow featuring Gutnik, Schreiber and film participants from Ukraine. Additional Tribeca screenings are happening on Friday, June 16 and Sunday, June 18 (with Q&As to follow each show).
“The film’s subjects are Gutnik’s intimate collaborators in exploring what it means to navigate the jarring rhythms and surreal juxtapositions of life under the shadow of war,” writes Robert Winn in the Tribeca program. “A young couple wakes to air raid sirens and has tea on their balcony. Neighborhoods lie in ruins, and the community comes together to sweep up broken glass and rubble. Scenes of utter devastation provoke insomnia and numbness — yet friends gather to relax in a bar, an art center pushes ahead with a new exhibition, and artists redouble their commitment to their craft.”
Director David Gutnik
2Brave Productions/Park Pictures/Stacey Reiss Productions
Rule of Two Walls is written, directed and edited by Gutnik, a Ukrainian-American filmmaker whose feature debut, Materna, won awards for Best Cinematography and Best Actress at the 2020 Tribeca Festival. Producers of Rule of Two Walls are Olha Beskhmelnytsina, Sam Bisbee and Stacey Reiss. Cinematography is by Volodymyr Ivanov and David Gutnik, with original music by Andrew Orkin. Executive Producers are Liev Schreiber, Natalia Libet, Lance Acord, Jason Weinberg, Brett Etre, Jackie Bisbee, Michelle Booso, and Gil Elbaz. Emily McCann Lesser is co-producer.
Watch the trailer above.
