Slava Ukraini (2023)
Director: Bernard-Henri Lévy Run Time: 94 min. Release Year: 2023
Starring: Bernard-Henri Lévy, Gilles Hertzog
Country: France, Ukraine
Language: French, English, Ukrainian
About the film:
One year after the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy takes us to the heart of the combat through this war diary made during the second half of 2022.
From Kharkiv and Bakhmut to Kherson, in the aftermath of the city’s liberation, this documentary bears witness to the ravages of war through the testimonies of soldiers, chronicles of the front and portraits of civilians, and shares with us the struggle of the Ukrainian people.
“Lévy gives us a travelogue of desolation, determination and grit… a reminder that on the ground, Ukrainians are in this to defeat their invaders, whatever it takes”
Slava Ukraini (2023) premiered in France in cinemas during the week of February 24 to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s war against Ukraine. A special premiere was held in Kyiv on February 26 with Minister of Defense Reznikov, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kuleba and Minister of Culture Tkachenko, representatives from the Olena Zelenska Foundation, as well as hundreds of Ukrainian decorated soldiers and major players of the resilient Ukrainian public.
About the filmmaker:
Bernard-Henri Lévy is a French philosopher, filmmaker, playwright, and the best-selling author of more than 40 non-fiction books and novels. He was one of the founders of the French “New Philosophers” movement in 1976, and is known for his cultural commentary, his opposition to authoritarianism, and as a proponent of the “duty to intervene.”
He studied philosophy at France’s prestigious École Normale Supérieure. In 1971, he became a war correspondent for Combat – the legendary newspaper founded by Albert Camus during the Nazi occupation of France – and went on to write for numerous periodicals in France and abroad. Over the last 50 years, he has documented urgent humanitarian crises in areas of conflict including Pakistan, Darfur, Ukraine, Nigeria, and Kurdistan. His feature films include his César nominated documentary Bosna! (1994), Cannes selections The Oath of Tobruk (2012) and Peshmerga (2016), The Will to See (2021), and Slava Ukraini (2023). He also taught at the Lycée Robert de Luzarches, the University of Strasbourg, and the École Normale Supérieure.
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