Divia
With the beginning of military aggression in 2014 and the full-scale invasion by Russia in 2022, the state of the ecology in Ukraine has deteriorated catastrophically.
The name of the film, "Divіa", comes from the Slavic goddess of nature, who represents the mother of all living things. The main characters of the film are the nature of Ukraine and the war which brings destruction and death.
The film’s structure is based on the conflict between those two antagonist forces. It consists of three acts.
In the first act, we see nature as a primary system of coexistence of its elements, flora and fauna, with no humans present. Nature reserves appear before us as an archetype of protective, harmonious life, where everyone is part of the great cycle of existence. Nature is in balance until war breaks in.
In the second act we see the fiery whirlwind of war rapidly destroying natural landscapes. Tanks and artillery shells are exploding, creating deep craters in the fields. Forests are burning. A herd of wild boars fleeing is blown up in a minefield. Carcases of cows and horses are rotting in the sun. After a dam is destroyed, huge amounts of land are overflown. Fields and villages disappear under dirty, contaminated water carrying dead fishes, debris and chemicals. In all this desolation, we sometimes hear the sounds of animals in the empty forests, like if phantoms would wander around - an echo of earlier times.
In the third act, deminers, body searchers, ecologists, animal activists are wandering around like ghosts, trying to measure the scale of the tragedy, clean the land and repair lost natural resources. Divia herself is looking for ways to heal after the destruction. Weed is growing around abandoned equipment, corpses of dead soldiers are slowly disappearing in the soil. Flowers are blossoming. Wild animals are returning and adapting to a wounded environment. New life comes to the land.
The name of the film, "Divіa", comes from the Slavic goddess of nature, who represents the mother of all living things. The main characters of the film are the nature of Ukraine and the war which brings destruction and death.
The film’s structure is based on the conflict between those two antagonist forces. It consists of three acts.
In the first act, we see nature as a primary system of coexistence of its elements, flora and fauna, with no humans present. Nature reserves appear before us as an archetype of protective, harmonious life, where everyone is part of the great cycle of existence. Nature is in balance until war breaks in.
In the second act we see the fiery whirlwind of war rapidly destroying natural landscapes. Tanks and artillery shells are exploding, creating deep craters in the fields. Forests are burning. A herd of wild boars fleeing is blown up in a minefield. Carcases of cows and horses are rotting in the sun. After a dam is destroyed, huge amounts of land are overflown. Fields and villages disappear under dirty, contaminated water carrying dead fishes, debris and chemicals. In all this desolation, we sometimes hear the sounds of animals in the empty forests, like if phantoms would wander around - an echo of earlier times.
In the third act, deminers, body searchers, ecologists, animal activists are wandering around like ghosts, trying to measure the scale of the tragedy, clean the land and repair lost natural resources. Divia herself is looking for ways to heal after the destruction. Weed is growing around abandoned equipment, corpses of dead soldiers are slowly disappearing in the soil. Flowers are blossoming. Wild animals are returning and adapting to a wounded environment. New life comes to the land.